Working Life

You could pick a multitude of examples showing the forces on each side of the fast track fight. It’s the voices of workers against the voice of corporations (aided by 28 Democrats who need to face primaries).

Indeed, here is a quote that says it all: the fast track vote is “a victory for those with a narrow agenda that puts petty politics ahead of people, while jeopardizing the futures of millions of men and women in America.”

Oh, the source of that quote, the organization looking out for millions of workers?

It’s not the AFL-CIO.

It’s the National Retail Federation, one of the most anti-union trade organizations in the nation. There, that’s one of your allies, Mr. President.

Read the full story

You can all go here to look at how this unfolded today in the liveblog. Here now are the names of the votes of the 28 Democrats who voted against workers and in favor of corporate rights. To be clear, without the votes of these 28 Democrats, fast track would have failed. It only passed […]

Read the full story

Hey, I have to watch this for general work so what the heck…

Setting the stage first (and apologies ahead of time for the typos).

Read the full story

The vote was close on the rule that allows fast track to proceed to a vote. It would have gone down to defeat.

Except for EIGHT Democrats who sold out seniors (because Republicans are seeking cuts in Medicare as part of this piece of dung), workers and the environment.

Some Democrats are calling the President’s position on workers’ aid attached to fast track (which I call “burial insurance”) like it is: bullshit.

Read the full story

Going back to NAFTA more than two decades ago (wow, time flies when Administration after Administration screws workers year after year, eh?), deals have been made by presidents to buy votes. With Bill Clinton and Robert Reich promising a whole host of goodies, NAFTA passed narrowly–my favorite deal struck in memory was Clinton’s promise to establish a North American Development Bank with $3 billion…which bought the votes of a few Democrats like Rep. Esteban Torres (D-CA) and Rep. Ed Pastor (D-AZ). The bank? Ooooopppppssss…didn’t happen beyond a trickle.

You see, the sale of one’s soul–and the livelihoods of millions of people–for a piddling appropriation turns out to be a bad deal just on the narrow merits of what’s promised:

Most deals are broken.

Read the full story

It’s always been the case that the vote for fast track would be close, close of course being in the eye of the beholder. But, with a vote possible on Friday, there are A DOZEN DEMOCRATS worth calling today. I suggest this list of a dozen based on two things: a little bit of intel […]

Read the full story

Where or where is Nancy Pelosi in fast track? Inquiring minds want to know.

Read the full story

Back in March, Wikileaks got a hold of an advanced draft of the TPP and leaked it. Today, the organization has done it again.

Read the full story

I’d say this grading on the curve and it’s still only a B- for the performance of the global economy.

Read the full story

In which Bernie Sanders also answers the question about egads “socialism.” This is five minutes worth watching–as millions did.

Read the full story