Working Life

    Ben Smith of the Politico talked to me New Year’s Eve about whether Sen. Obama was doing long-lasting damage to his relations with labor because of his criticism of 527 money flowing in to Iowa in support of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. Obama never actually used the words "special interest" and "unions" in […]

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   At the end of the day, when the madness of our election process is over, each of us is likely, no matter who we individually supported, to be disappointed. But, as I’ve pointed out since the 2006 elections, there is much to be optimistic about when it comes to the issue of trade—-at least […]

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   At the end of the day, when the madness of our election process is over, each of us is likely, no matter who we individually supported, to be disappointed. But, as I’ve pointed out since the 2006 elections, there is much to be optimistic about when it comes to the issue of trade—-at least […]

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John Edwards is making his closing argument with the voters of Iowa–and the media elites are having a hard time trying to understand why he is now drawing increasingly larger crowds. That comes through glaringly in today’s New York Times piece by the apparently perplexed Adam Nagourney.   In the piece, we learn that: Mr. […]

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John Edwards is making his closing argument with the voters of Iowa–and the media elites are having a hard time trying to understand why he is now drawing increasingly larger crowds. That comes through glaringly in today’s New York Times piece by the apparently perplexed Adam Nagourney.   In the piece, we learn that: Mr. […]

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Forget what the pundits and some of the elements of the Democratic corporate establishment think: John Edwards is reflecting the sentiment of Iowans when he points out the dangerous effects of globalization.   Today’s Wall Street Journal tells us this: At a John Deere plant here, bright green tractors bound for Brazil, Russia and China […]

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   What would it be like to have a president who actually believes in strikes? Who believes in the rights of workers? Who also understands the danger of media consolidation? That was what became more clear to me watching a video of John Edwards marching on the picket line with striking Writers Guild of America […]

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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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    I’m trying to keep election news t a minimum so we can focus on labor and workers’ issues that get less discussion but, let’s face it, people want to know and politics will dominate even more in 2008. So…though he didn’t get the national union’s endorsement, John Edwards did pretty well yesterday as nine  […]

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    So, as a short follow up to yesterday’s post on the decision by SEIU to be neutral at a national level and let its state-level organizations make up their own minds, here’s some intel on where at least one insider believes states might go. Some of this is probably obvious–and feel free to disagree […]

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