Working Life

   It’s just about that time–the new scare about Social Security. And so The New York Times rolls out its scary story: Even as Congress hunted for ways to finance a major expansion of health insurance coverage, the Obama administration reported Tuesday that the financial condition of the two largest federal benefit programs, Medicare and […]

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    I’m all for this: Hartmarx, known for its Hart Schaffner & Marx and Hickey Freeman suits, and for making President Obama’s inauguration tuxedo and topcoat, has long been America’s leading clothier for men. Now its workers want to make the company, which is in bankruptcy, a leader in a different way. Hoping to save […]

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   When last seen on the American political scene in 1995, Bob Packwood was forced to resign from the U.S. Senate because of charges of sexual harassment, assault and abuse–charges he continued to deny even though the evidence was pretty compelling (for those of you with political recall, you might remember the endless struggle over […]

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   Yes, there are big issues where the outcome is not clear–the Employee Free Choice Act and health care come to mind. But, this does make a difference in the day-to-day lives of workers–from The Wall Street Journal today: Mr. Obama is asking for $13.3 billion of discretionary spending to run the Labor Department, up […]

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  I understand why the Administration had been working overtime to try to prop up major banks–but understanding does not mean agreement with the long-term strategy. In fact, the question worth asking today is not whether the stress tests are accurate or whether more taxpayer money will be needed to shore up the major banks. […]

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   There is an illuminating–and admirable piece in The New York Times that has an unsettling vibe of the past: how financial manipulators are already circling to try to profit from the distress of the economic calamity that many of them actually helped create…and maybe even set the stage for the great next crisis down […]

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   We keep avoiding the elephant in the room. It’s fine for the president to do this: President Obama on Monday called for curbing offshore tax havens and corporate tax breaks to collect billions of dollars more from multinational companies and wealthy individuals. The move would appeal to growing populist anger among taxpayers but is […]

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Run into first friend, Mercedes, whose mother is in the New York City Labor Chorus. Mercedes tells me her mother Rona says "Joan Baez is a doll." On escalator I run into a friend from Camp Kinderland #1. In seating area I run into two more friends from Kinderland (#2,#3). Wonder if I will run […]

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   You can decide for yourself why you think David Paterson did this (for true love of unions or a brazenly political move…or both) but it is still a good thing: Gov. David A. Paterson has issued an order making it easier for labor unions to organize thousands of workers at some of New York’s […]

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The bankruptcy of Chrysler crystallized a pretty straightforward choice about which side you are on in our society: do you care about what happens to workers and their communities or are you more interested in making a few more dollars? The Administration made its choice. A few hedge funds made their choice and, along with […]

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