Working Life

A few days ago, I got this little squib from the Economic Policy Institute which looked at some date from the Federal Reserve that I haven’t seen discussed anywhere: The data in the report reveal that in 2004, minority incomes were about 56% that of whites. However, a far larger gap exists when we compare […]

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We’ve been following the attack on the pension system for a long time. What an outrage: people save their own money–it is their money because pension money is deferred compensation–and, poof, it’s either gone or taken over by the federal agency that is struggling with a $23 billion deficit, which could get even bigger if […]

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A friend of mine from Michigan, who I can’t name because of the organizational post s/he holds, writes: It’s been delicious – and a bit hilarious — to watch Michigan Republicans spin in ever-contradictory circles as they attempt to justify their vote this week in favor of raising the state minimum wage by 44%, to […]

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Here I hadn’t really mentioned Greg Meeks for some time and, bingo, he pops up twice in a row. After yesterday’s posting about the protest at his fundraiser, I received a notice that Meeks–one of our CAFTA 15–was feted yesterday. Now, it wasn’t a hug from labor or a consumer group or someone looking out […]

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Rep. Gregory Meeks is one of the CAFTA 15 (yes, it is a hard thing for us New Yorkers to admit that 2 of the 15 come from our fair city–an unbelievable thought given that labor unions are still relatively large here). And, just as bad, Meeks is one of the so-called Democrats who voted […]

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I’ve posted the below at Huffington Post and Daily Kos. I’m so peeved at the spineless Beltway Democrats that I’m reposting it here, too. If you are one of those Democrats like me who is completely fed up with the inside-the-Beltway party hacks who continue to lose elections because they have no spine and no […]

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Melissa Bean’s people are getting nervous out there in Illinois. Bean is one of the CAFTA 15. I hear today that the Teamsters Joint Council in the district has endorsed a Republican in the primary, Robert Churchill. Six Republicans have lined up for the right to take on Bean. The Teamsters are one of the […]

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Just about a month ago, before the escalating debate over the ports deal, I pointed out that a new round of attacks was beginning to be launched against people who opposed globalization. The mainstream media is feeding that assault. Today, you can read a superficial piece by David Sanger in The New York Times. Anchored […]

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A little switch in subject today. I’ve been reading, here and there, about the new book about Barry Bonds and the questions about his steroid use. In fairness, I’ve never been a fan of Bonds–among the vast sea of self-centered sports figures, he seemed to be in a class of his own. He had his […]

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It’s been a fairly accepted idea that many unions are abandoning the process of organizing workers via the National Labor Relations Board election procedures. According to Steve Greenhouse’s piece today, card check is overwhelmingly becoming the accepted route to unionization: Card checks were used to sign up roughly 70 percent of the private-sector workers who […]

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