Working Life

    I’m frankly unmoved by the arguments circulating that so-called super-delegates have to vote one way or another. The system for political primaries is broken and the super-delegate issue–discovered mainly by people who never objected to their status before–is just one problem. But, since the super-delegates may have a crucial role at the Democratic convention, […]

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    Wow. Time flies when trade talks are crumbling…I looked back in my archives here and it’s been almost two years since I mused about the crumbling world trade talks known in the parlance as the Doha Round. Today’s Wall Street Journal article tells us that the world leaders who attended the APEC summit were […]

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The most interesting responses during last night’s presidential "debate" were those on trade, specifically, those answers to Keith Olbermann’s question about whether NAFTA should be scraped or fixed. I admit that I have an abnormal interest in the topic but, to me, it is the defining issue for the future for workers here and abroad. […]

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A couple of weeks ago, I noted how The Wall Street Journal had acknowledged that John Edwards was dictating the debate in the Democratic Party. Today, he’s doing it again. This time on global trade, the issue that I believe defines the future for workers throughout the globe.    Today, Edwards is unveiling a comprehensive […]

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I still believe that we have the best environment we’ve had in a very long time on the issue of trade. But, we’ve got to thank Rep. Gregory Meeks, Democrat from New York, for reminding us that we have to remain vigilant and on the case. Meeks, you see, is one of the dwindling number […]

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    So, nice to be back home and I hope to get a better report out on the Edwards poverty tour. But, since it will take a little time to look at my video results, here’s something for now: Tom Friedman has written a lot of dumb things in the past. It’s worth separating the […]

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Even The Wall Street Journal acknowledges the obvious today: President Bush’s ambitious global trade agenda appears to be shrinking to this: a new investment-treaty negotiation with Rwanda, launched Thursday, likely to be followed by pursuit of similar pacts with the small African countries of Ghana and Mauritius. Bigger, more complex agreements — notably the Doha […]

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    As most people have heard, there is a Senate deal on immigration, cut between a bi-partisan liberal/conservative group that includes Ted Kennedy and Jon Kyl, among others. Personally, I detest the “Build the wall” portion and the requirement that for people to become citizens, they first have to leave the country and return.     […]

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My email box runneth over with various statements from union leaders on the trade deal struck between the Administration and Charlie Rangel and some of his sidekicks in the Democratic leadership. Anna Burger, chair of the Change To Win federation, had this to say. Jim Hoffa, president of the Teamsters, weighed in. AFL-CIO President John […]

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    We still need to read the fine print regarding the trade deal that was struck yesterday between the Administration and House Democrats (or, to be more precise, Ways and Means Chair Charlie Rangel). But, I’m always struck by the way in which liberals and even a few progressives (note: there is a difference) still […]

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