Working Life

   While we are distracted by the minor problem of the financial crisis, and shoveling mountains of cash into the hands of private investors who will enrich themselves (again), there is the small matter of the so-called "free trade" deal with Panama that keeps poking its nose above ground. There are murmurings that there will […]

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   Yesterday, Arlen Specter declared on the floor of the Senate that he would not vote for cloture–meaning, for you’all not as familiar with the lingo of the Senate, that he would not vote to end a filibuster, which requires 60 votes to stop–on the Employee Free Choice Act. Oddly, this got very little play […]

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   I was inclined to give my own take on the newest Treasury plan to bail out banks but, not that that isn’t important, I thought this was more likely to get missed. Surprise, surprise, Wal-Mart is negotiating with the UFCW about an organizing issue. But, it isn’t what you think: Nine years after a […]

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   Two things caught my eye this morning. Item #1: If you want to know how the power has shifted in the world of banking, The Financial Times has a fascinating full-page story entitled "The fearsome become the fallen". It compares the rankings of the leading banks in 1999 to the rankings right now, as […]

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   I’m only about peace and love these days when it comes to the labor movement–there is plenty to write about in the AIG-side of the world that makes you want to cry. So, it was nice to read the email in my box announcing an agreement between SEIU and the California Nurses Association to […]

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Probably the toughest mountain to climb in this country is reversing the three-decade Reagan-era damage to the notion that paying taxes is part of what we do to live in a decent society. One of the cornerstones of the anti-responsibility meme is rich people will flee a state that raises taxes. The problem is that […]

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  I am watching the parade of outraged leaders–especially Democrats–who are railing about the AIG bonuses and, to be honest, I’m far more disgusted by the outrage then the chump change being argued over. Because the outrage masks this fact: virtually our entire political and economic leadership has turned a blind eye, and actually endorsed, […]

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   Look, I think it’s outrageous that these AIG guys are raking in huge bonuses. But, I thought that a year ago and ten years ago–as I’m sure a lot of you did. So, I’m a bit less impressed by the outrage expressed from the White House all the way down the food chain.    […]

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   Oh, you know, these guys continue to be stupid. Yesterday, I reluctantly watched "60 Minutes" because I was curious what Fed Chair Ben Bernanke had to say. Frankly, it was pretty boring…a la Bernanke is mad at AIG yada yada…    And this was the only thing that made my hair stand on end […]

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Oh, don’t get me wrong–Madoff will, and should, die in prison. But, there is a downside to all this obsession with Bernie Madoff–his crimes are miniscule compared to the legalized robbery that went on in Wall Street and devastated the lives of millions of people. And we can’t let the media circus around Madoff let […]

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