Working Life

Sorry, fans, for the late post (why I feel the need to apologize says something…) but was out early for my speech to the Teamsters National Black Caucus meeting in Chicago (where, yes, it’s 90 plus…again). You can read the speech if you feel like (as they say, the prepared text is not the precise […]

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It’s the classic question: local versus national; grassroots versus leadership…I’ve always been a man in the middle on the questions…you need both…neither is the answer on its own. And so the question of what will happen with the Central Labor Councils and State Federations has generated a lot of buzz and heat across the nation […]

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Knew I was going to be on the road here in Chicago (geez, maybe I should get a place here, what with spending a whole week here for the AFL-CIO convention) but had to go to the local candlelight vigil here in support of Cindy Sheehan. I know everyone knows the story so I’ll just […]

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I wish I didn’t have to keep pointing out the sorry state of the “opposition” party. But, alas, the reason we may lose yet another trillion dollars in revenues over the next decade to fund education etc. is that too many Democrats seem likely to vote to end a potential filibuster to prevent the repeal […]

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I’ve been enjoying reading everyone’s additions to the unanswered questions about the future of labor (and, yes, some suggestions which are good, too). So, don’t stop…I’m on my way to Chicago tomorrow to speak before the Teamsters Black Caucus annual meeting (and to catch, by chance, the Yankees playing those hard-to-beat White Sox) but, while […]

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Questions, questions, questions…I think that’s been my pre-occupation for the past six months. While so many people seem certain that they have the right answers to the future of labor, I find so many questions still begging for an answer–partly because there is no easy answer for our predicament. And, repeatedly in this space, I’ve […]

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We get one for the good guys. Sort of. Friday night, a federal judge struck down the personnel rules adopted by the Department of Homeland Security because, as The New York Times reports today, the rules did not “ensure collective bargaining” even under the pathetic framework of the bill passed by Congress that created the […]

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Look, I’m no fan of the F.B.I. and there are many, many, many instances of these guys going after completely innocent people. But, I do want to note a follow up to the info I posted a week ago about the F.B.I. raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson, one of the CAFTA 15. […]

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This is worth checking out: http://afsc.org/iraq/movie.htm

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I’m intrigued enough by the Solidarity Charters question to give it one more ride here, though I might also come back with some reactions from the CLC folks themselves. After reading the guidelines in John Sweeney’s letter to the Executive Council, I wonder (along with some intelligent commenters yesterday) how doable these charters really are. […]

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