Working Life

    I voted early this morning. And now I can reflect on the disaster looming ahead. Not what happens today. But what happens over the next few years, and the next decade.     In the midst of the greatest crisis on the planet in half a century, there was such a lack of serious debate […]

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Karl Marx? Nancy Pelosi? Bernie Sanders? Nope–Bill Gates Sr. Not that this it is surprising that rich people don’t want to pay taxes but it’s worth listening to Gates’ views on the fight over the attempt to put in place a tax on the richest people in Washington State.   Last night, "60 Minutes" had […]

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   I always thought this approach would be worth trying: Ballots cast throughout New Jersey on Tuesday will list hundreds of candidates, their parties and the offices they seek. But for 53 candidates, the ballots will not say one of the most important things they have in common: union-approved. These people running for town councilman, […]

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We are missing part of the anger that I think cuts across the political spectrum–and it goes right to the question: why is Angelo Mozilo not going to jail for a very long time? Because the political system still is not willing to jettison our coddling of the vast array of people who committed deep […]

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   A lot of the voices on our side repeat the absolute truth: the Republican Party is simply not telling the truth about the seeds of the economic disaster we are dealing with and that it is in fact the government–our government–that prevented things from getting a lot worse AND we would be in much […]

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   This could be important in the scheme of things next week–the labor movement is holding its collective nose and helping out people who were less than helpful on key issues: Big Labor’s big threat to punish misbehaving Democrats has largely evaporated in the heat of the midterms, as unions now scramble to rescue incumbents […]

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   When I first read the story today about Andrew Cuomo, it seemed fairly in line with previous things he has said about his plan to attack the labor movement if he wins the election: Andrew M. Cuomo will mount a presidential-style permanent political campaign to counter the well-financed labor unions he believes have bullied […]

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Each year, I pause on this day to remember Paul Wellstone, one of the truly great Senators in my lifetime. Eight years ago, Paul died in a plane crash. I will always remember where I was when I heard the news, in the way we all remember momentous events. And his absence seems even more […]

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   With all the media attention to the money pouring into elections from business and right-wingers, here is an interesting tidbit from today’s Wall Street Journal: The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is now the biggest outside spender of the 2010 elections, thanks to an 11th-hour effort to boost Democrats that has […]

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   Maybe a trend: The Jimmy John’s restaurants here are known for serving attitude with their sandwiches. Many of their young workers wear nose rings, beards and dreadlocks, and the shops sport mottoes like “The Customer Is Usually Right” and “Subs So Fast You’ll Freak.” But recently, the employees at the 10 shops here have […]

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