Working Life

Many of you probably recall the transit workers strike in December 2005 in NYC when the members of TWU Local 100 walked out for two days right before the holidays. Details on the strike can be read on Working Life here and here. One of the major ways this strike continues to impact the union […]

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  Any day now, maybe even tomorrow, there could be a strike by thousands of writers who come up with the words that come out of the mouths of the actors and performers who we watch on the big screen, television, DVDs and, increasingly, the Internet, or listen to on the radio. What isn’t always […]

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There is a cruel economic hoax being played on millions of American workers, a hoax that unfortunately is being promoted by too many Democrats. The hoax is this: that workers who lose their jobs to so-called "free trade" can simply be retrained to do something else that will be a good substitute for what they […]

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    Last week, the AFL-CIO filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) against the Bush National Labor Relations Board (I’m going to try to upload the complaint here but right now we are, as they say, experiencing technical difficulties…or maybe I’m just more lame than I thought). It’s a good indictment of the […]

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Aside from the Iraq war, nothing is more important in this election than where the next president will stand on how the rules will be set in the economy, particularly when it comes to trade. There is no greater threat to average Americans–a greater threat than the budget deficit, or the admittedly awful sub-prime mortgage […]

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    My friends at the National Labor Committee are up to their usual good work. Yesterday, Charlie Kernaghan testified at a Senate hearing on the abuses facing workers in China–in particular, those workers who churn out the toys that most American kids find under their X-mas trees: Mattel’s Barbie toys, along with Thomas & Friends […]

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To this day, the progressive movement—-and the entire country—-misses the voice and leadership of Paul Wellstone. I’m not sure we are conscious of it on a daily basis. But, on the fifth anniversary today of his death in a plane crash, I want us to remember what Paul meant to America.   He was the […]

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It’s nice to report some good news on the labor front—one of the biggest labor organizing victories in the last half-century. The United Federation of Teachers—the New York City-based affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers—has won the right to represent 28,000 child care providers. This is not only a great victory for organizing but […]

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It’s nice to report some good news on the labor front—one of the biggest labor organizing victories in the last half-century. The United Federation of Teachers—the New York City-based affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers—has won the right to represent 28,000 child care providers. This is not only a great victory for organizing but […]

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    In another world, this might be called a crime–and maybe it is illegal. But, at least, it’s pretty sleazy and makes you wonder: why would any state really want Wal-Mart? After all, it generates low-paying jobs that keep workers in poverty–not a great way to build your tax base–and, it turns out, the Beast […]

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