Working Life

Ah, yes, Melissa Bean, one of the CAFTA 15, has been doing her best to curry favor with the corporate world. None other than Robert Novak (he of the hypocritical rah-rah war-mongering class who likes to expose CIA agents) tips us off to where Melissa is getting her love in his August 7th column: “Melissa’s […]

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The movement to take out the CAFTA 15 picked up more momentum in New York City on a humid Sunday morning. The targets: Reps. Gregory Meeks and Edolphus Towns. At yesterday’s press conference on the steps of City Hall, Gregory Meeks and Edolphus Towns were pilloried, and it’s clear they won’t see a dime of […]

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It’s not an easy time working for the AFL-CIO. You have to feel a lot of compassion for people who want to fight for working people–yet find themselves in an extremely tough situation, not made easier by some of the ways they are being treated. In these very days, the Federation’s staff is now seeing […]

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One of my personal campaigns is to rid the world of the idiotic notion that we’re all dumb and we just have to get smarter and better trained to triumph in the economy of the future. It’s been one of those dumb theories that sound good on paper–who is against being more educated–but has very […]

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Thanks to one of our readers for sending along this newspaper article that gives more detail about Melissa Bean’s spineless support for CAFTA. I really dig the kudos she gets from the Chamber of Commerce–should clinch any real labor person’s qualms about taking her out. Bean bounced from fete Labor irked: CAFTA vote costs her […]

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The CAFTA 15 are already feeling the heat–and more to come. As I mentioned a few days ago, Working Life will devote on-going space to holding the CAFTA 15 accountable–including a special section under development. So, here’s some more info: Melissa Bean (Illinois, 8th District): is already losing support in her district. The Northeastern Illinois […]

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No, not Springsteen–the other Boss…employers. We’ve all been prattling and pontificating about the meaning of the disaffiliations and the future of the AFL-CIO. But, what do employers think? Well, here’s a little inside look via a memo sent by Morgan Lewis, one of the premier management law firms, to its clients. Of particular interest was […]

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At the convention, John Sweeney released a letter to CLC’s and State Feds with the very short and pithy, bumper-sticker like title, “Moving Forward From the Convention to Build A Stronger Labor Movement at the State and Local Levels and Maintaining Organizational Integrity.” It essentially laid out the ground rules on how to treat locals […]

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Over the wire came this short message from a president of an AFL-CIO state federation who asked that I not use any name when posting this–but did give me permission to post. “CTW” refers to the Change To Win Coalition, in case anyone was still wondering, and “JwJ” stands for Jobs With Justice… “Your blog […]

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As a bookend to Bob Welsh’s missive, which is posted just below this post, here’s a note from Deborah Weinstock, who is the Newspaper Guild’s unit chair at the AFL-CIO. I don’t envy her right now–it can’t be pretty trying to reassure your members while facing a $25-27 million hole in the budget. For many […]

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