Working Life

Sometimes, those of us who have continually said so-called “free trade” is a very bad deal for American workers and workers around the globe. NAFTA, for example, has cost about 1 million decent-paying jobs since it was passed, thanks to the Clinton Administration. Here’s a bit more information from the Economic Policy Institute: For a […]

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The question is being asked, legitimately, if it is now time to abandon the National Labor Relations Board in light of the Kentucky River decision? I’ve been among those that for a long time have advocated abandoning the NLRB process. Even without the Kentucky River decision, as veteran organizers and negotiators know, winning an election […]

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If you wanted another great reason to drive this Administration and its enablers from power, the Bush majority at the National Labor Relations Board has just posted its ruling in a significant group of cases known collectively as Kentucky River. And it’s very bad. The board’s ruling has now classified many nurses as “supervisors” if […]

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For a long time, I’ve argued that politicians who focus on the challenge presented by China miss the real problem, intentionally or unintentionally. Almost a year ago, when the debate was raging about the need for China to revalue its currency, I didn’t disagree with the point but added that: …the level of the currency […]

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As if it wasn’t hard enough to make a living at Wal-Mart, the nice people running the Beast of Bentonville have decided that people make too much money working at their stores–and that the lives of the workers are just too darn focused on things other than Wal-Mart. The New York Times today has a […]

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I’m one of those people that has been totally unimpressed by the excitement over Bob Woodward’s new book. I haven’t read any of Woodward’s books since “All The President’s Men” primarily because he is simply a regurgitator, with some extra facts, of either the conventional wisdom or the anti-convention wisdom once it becomes the new […]

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I wrote this for Huffington Post but thought it might generate some thoughtful discussion here. The previous post looked at the close relationship between corporate lobbyists and the Democratic Party–and how those lobbyists are stepping up their cash contributions to Dems in anticipation of a switch in control of one or both house of Congress.

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Yesterday I had been musing about whether the 26th Congressional District race might be a race to watch. Democrat Jack Davis is running against Republican incumbent Tom Reynolds; Davis is making trade a huge issue in the race in an area that has been devasted by NAFTA and so-called “free trade.” And, sure enough, a […]

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Sounds like a start of a piece about Paris Hilton, huh? Nah. Several hundred people went to jail yesterday in Los Angeles for blocking a main street near the airport as part of a protest in support of unionizing Hilton and Westin hotels. Which brings up the tactic of civil disobedience. It says something when–if […]

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This Congressional race isn’t in the top-tier of competitive races–it doesn’t even rank in the top 50 races to watch at The Hotline–but it will be interesting to see what happens in the 26th CD in New York. Democrat Jack Davis is running against Republican incumbent Tom Reynolds, who also happens to be the national […]

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