Working Life

  The Beast of Bentonville–aka Wal-Mart–is slowly, but surely, letting go of the argument "we’re innocent" of widespread lawbreaking. And this just in: it will settle 63 lawsuits for a cool $640 million.   From The New York Times: Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, said Tuesday that it would pay up to $640 million […]

Read the full story

   I’ve made the point over the past many months that the current financial crisis will be used–and has been used–as a cover to attack workers and, particularly unions. There is a struggle going on over two visions of society: a decent standard of living vs. a Wal-Mart standard of living. I made that point […]

Read the full story

This is not a post about why someone should not be the next U.S. Senator from New York. It’s advocating for someone who should: the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten.   If you want the full history and credentials for Randi, check it out here. Here are my basic reasons for […]

Read the full story

   Nothing is keeping my anger quotient higher than the refusal by politicians in New York state–and across the nation–to tax the rich. It is nothing less than an obscenity. We’ve got mountains of money piled high in a few bank accounts–and, yet, no one wants to ask those fortunate few to stop cuts in […]

Read the full story

   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