Working Life

Stretch…ah, Saturday and Sunday it just takes a little longer to turn that computer on. It seems like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have discovered an amazing fact, almost at the same time: there is such a thing as class. Both of the papers of the elite have been running stories […]

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I’ve talked alot about China and specifically about the hand-wringing over the question of China’s currency. Paul Krugman addresses this today—quite well, I think. He tells, in fairly accessible language for an economist, how the U.S.-China relationship works: China is keeping its currency lower than it should be for a country where investment is flowing […]

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Well, actually, I’m not sure…my previous post about the issue emanated from what I think now is a bad rumor. There is too much information flying around and sometimes (as Newsweek discovered) it may be wrong, I’d say forget it—and I’ve also taken the step of deleting this information from this post. Ah, the beauty […]

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A few tidbits today from 16th Street. A good friend, deep inside 16th Street, says that based on a draft job description of the new job categories decreed by Chairman Welsh, “there is no way the AFL-CIO is going to win any arbitration because they are so similar.” My friend knows the details of the […]

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So, I’ll join the general hysteria over the release of the latest Star Wars movie (which, once the lines get normal, I’ll be shelling out my $10.50 for…I can’t remember what it cost to see the first one 30 years ago). Back in the Reagan Era (which, as shocking as it may seem, feels somewhat […]

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I have just been given two letters that were sent to John Sweeney yesterday by Federation workers at 16th Street in the wake of the deep cuts announced two weeks ago. Coming soon after the release of the insurgents new proposal, this cannot help John Sweeney try to stem the vibrations coursing through the AFL-CIO […]

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Today’s a day when I’m worried about the tone of the debate inside the labor movement (maybe because it’s my sister’s birthday and I’m feeling touchy-feely). Mind you, I’m glad there is a debate about how to save a movement that is on life support. Until the Service Employees International Union kicked the can last […]

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Here’s a wacky, radical idea: why not let the 13 million members of the affiliated unions of the AFL-CIO vote on the competing proposals put out by the two main camps in the past couple of weeks? There’s a debate going on about which side has the best ideas or strategies—but it’s a debate within […]

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Okay, folks, here it is: Restoring the American Dream: Building a 21st Century Labor Movement That Can Win (The final version is now posted. Apologies for confusion). I’m going to do a more detailed side-by-side comparison of this proposal versus the AFL-CIO officers proposal released a couple of weeks ago (by the way, I’ll just […]

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The new salvo from the insurgents will be available for your reading pleasure at 1 p.m. today!!! A few tidbits ’til then: All five of the insurgent unions (Laborers, SEIU, UNITE-HERE, UFCW and Teamsters) are on-board for the program; the UFCW will put out a letter of support pending approval of its Executive Board. At […]

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