Working Life

Big money. Two trillion dollars. If you could touch it, it would reach…oh, I dunno, I’m not going to tell you how high that stack would go and, actually, the point is, you can’t touch it: it’s stashed overseas. In corporate bank accounts. But, here’s the beauty: if you want to know what it feels when the Fortune 500 fleece the country to the tune of $550 billion in dodged taxes on that $2 trillion hiding in foreign bank accounts, just pull out your billfold…empty…well, that’s cuz the tab for that fleecing is on YOU.

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The president just keeps spending our money, his time and a chunk of political capital on the putrid Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the newest corporate-backed trade deal–“newest” because every trade deal since NAFTA has been all about protecting corporate interests. Nothing seems to move this president to understand that this is a horrendous deal. And, while a lot of focus has been paid to the TPP, another very bad deal is in the works between the U.S. and Europe–and it will potentially make millions of people sick. Or kill them.

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It’s not particularly surprising to learn that the John Sexton-led New York University is building its latest monument of “higher education” on the backs and sweat of abused workers. After all, Sexton and NYU led a vicious anti-union campaign to deny graduate students the right to have a union, and tried to kill the union at the end of a four-year agreement. The higher-ups at NYU are despicable, anti-union thugs–and they are happy to let people be abused half around the world, all for the glory of an academic empire.

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In a way, this is not surprise: poverty is poverty, whether you work in a McDonald’s in Paris or one in New York City. But, what is nice to see is some labor coordination across borders–something that usually is talked about a lot but rarely done effectively.

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Nah, I’m not talking about cheaper tickets or seats that are actually comfortable. Something more consequential, if you want to take the broader good view: fingers crossed but looks like a few thousands NYC-area airport workers will be unionized.

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I wonder what the genius in the White House, who organized the president’s celebration of Wal-Mart this past week, will say now. Or was it the president who thought, “gee, Wal-Mart, now there’s a model to hold up”. Just to aid anyone who had any doubts about the kind of company the Beast of Bentonville really is, Wal-Mart is happy to effectively lie to make sure its executives get their huge bonuses.

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Each day comes another example of stupid, confusing, contradictory messaging from the president. Maybe the whole thing about inequality and raising the minimum wage is, for the president, just an exercise in politics. But, man, get the fucking politics right. Which does not include embracing Wal-Mart.

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The many people Tim Carpenter touched in his life will recount his many qualities and contributions to the progressive movement, particularly as the national director of Progressive Democrats of America. But, remembering Tim, who passed away Monday after a long battle with cancer, I’d like to write a few words mainly about one thing: baseball.

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Rarely a day goes by without hearing about another disaster for the union movement. But, hey, here’s a good one: you can now fly with unionized Jet Blue pilots.

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When a former Supreme Court Justice speaks out, essentially calling his former colleagues just short of dishonest, it’s worth taking note. Justice John Paul Stevens is angry at the Court’s Citizens United decision and the more recent decision in McCutcheon and is calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decisions.

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