Working Life

   Take it for what it is: unconfirmed rumor but from the Associated Press:   A labor official says Rep. Hilda Solis of California will be nominated as labor secretary by President-elect Barack Obama. The Democratic congresswoman was just elected to her fifth term representing heavily Hispanic portions of eastern Los Angeles County and east […]

Read the full story

Jay Gould, the robber baron of the 19th Century, famously said that, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half." As we live through one of the worst economic collapses in a century, Gould’s wish is coming true. And we must stop Gould’s modern-day robber barons from sowing seeds […]

Read the full story

   The obscenity continues in America. The economy is destroyed–short-term and long-term–by incompetents and greedy people. But, it’s regular people who had nothing to do with this disaster who take the hit. And now we have the governor of New York blessing the disaster by taking aim at workers and letting the rich of the […]

Read the full story

   I pause for a moment from the discussion about the auto industry to check out what is happening in the actors’ house of labor. It ain’t pretty. Some of you may have read that there has been a long on-going internal fight in the Screen Actors Guild since…well, really, this goes back 20 years […]

Read the full story

  When the history of our current economic crisis is written, there will need to be a full chapter devoted to the willful ignorance or stupidity of the traditional media. Right before our eyes stands the solution to a huge chunk of our fiscal nightmare and a lifeline for the auto industry: single-payer health care. […]

Read the full story

Admittedly, I’ve never been into the bi-partisan meme. Maybe it’s because I’m a labor movement person and the mission of the Republican party, and its allies, is to destroy the labor movement. But, I still remain mystified: why exactly, given the Republican party’s record, is the new Administration working so hard to win it over? […]

Read the full story

  President-elect Obama has publicly stated that he wants "unconventional" thinking among the people who give him advice on the economy. Fantastic. So, here are some suggestions.    I’m throwing out these suggestions—-and welcome others—-partly because of the debate zapping around progressive circles about how critical progressives should be about the incoming Administration. I find […]

Read the full story

   It’s a typical refrain when it comes to health care or labor rights…"If we only live in Canada…" And there is a lot of truth to that–we would have a single-payer type health care system and it would be easier to organize unions. But, when it comes to the behavior of The Beast of […]

Read the full story

   McDonald’s really knows how to celebrate liberty and justice. On the eve of the international recognition Human Rights Day, McDonald’s announced it will launch a massive campaign to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act. So, let’s respond in kind: boycott McDonald’s.   As a reminder, the right to form a union is an internationally […]

Read the full story

   Aside from the strong picture and message sent by the workers who are sitting in at the Republic Windows & Doors factory, I particularly like the beating that seems to be handed out to Bank of America: Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, who met with the workers Monday morning, said the State of Illinois was […]

Read the full story