Archive for August, 2007
Corporate Welfare Kings Lounging on America’s Sofa
The housing market must be really bad. Bush is making noise about taking action to ease the subprime disaster.
Today, he made a big deal about annoucing aid for home owners—but "urging" Congress to act and "directing" federal housing honchos to work on initiatives doesn't go far enough fast enough to provide concrete assistances for home owners facing foreclosure.
On the Eve of Labor Day…
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On the eve of Labor Day, or any day, this is a great article by economist Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
In "The Right to Unionize: Key to Democracy," published on Truthout this week, Baker points out how Big Business has waged war against unions and their members, an anti-union drive that has clear support from the federal government. For instance:
Government policies have also supported anti-union practices in other ways. A main purpose of trade agreements like NAFTA was to make it as easy as possible to relocate factories overseas. The high dollar policy Robert Rubin initiated in the Clinton era also put U.S. manufacturing, and its unionized workers, at a huge disadvantage. A 30 percent over-valued dollar effectively imposes a 30 percent tariff on goods exported from the United States, while providing a subsidy of 30 percent on goods imported into the United States.
Machinists Endorse Clinton, Huckabee in Primaries
The Machinists (IAM) union has made endorsements in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the 2008 presidential race.
The union, which represents more than 700,000 active and retired workers, is backing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the race for the Democratic nomination and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) for the Republican spot on the ticket.
Clinton and Huckabee were among the contenders who spoke to IAM members this week at the union’s national staff conference.
More Bad News for Ground Zero Rescue and Recovery Workers
There is more grim health news for the estimated 40,000 rescue and recovery workers who dug through the deadly rubble and toxic debris at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center. A new survey shows that those workers are developing asthma at 12 times the normal rate for adults.
The study, from the New York City Health Department, shows 3.6 percent of Ground Zero workers report they have developed asthma after working at the site following the Sept. 11 attacks. The study was based on the responses collected by the World Trade Center Health Registry. Some 25,000 of the estimated 40,000 rescue workers have registered with the group.
Two Boston Firefighters Killed
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Two Boston firefighters were killed last night at a restaurant fire when they were trapped inside the burning building after a three-ton air condition fell through the roof. Twelve more firefighters were injured.
Both men were 25-year veterans of the department and members of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 718. They are Paul Cahill, 55, of Engine Co. 30 and Warren Payne, 53 of Ladder Co. 25.
Ed Kelly, president of IAFF 718, told the Boston Globe:
We lost two brothers, two brave men who went to work tonight to provide for their families and are not going home.
IAFF President Harold Schaitberger called their deaths "a terrible, terrible tragedy.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Boston deaths came less than two weeks after two fire fighters were killed in New York near Ground Zero.
Immigrant Union Membership Grew 30 Percent in Last Decade
Much of the growth in the union movement over the past decade has been due to an influx of immigrant workers. The number of immigrant workers who are union members grew by 30 percent from 1996 to 2006. At the same time, the number of native-born union members decreased by some 9 percent.
A new analysis of census data by the Migration Information Source shows in 2006, foreign-born immigrants made up 15 percent of the U.S. workforce and 12.3 percent (1.9 million) of union members. Nearly one in 10 foreign-born workers was a union member in 2006.
Stock Option Grants Need Scrutiny
The AFL-CIO is urging auditors to play closer attention to stock option grants by corporations to prevent future abuses such as backdating or spring-loading.
In an Aug. 23 letter to the chief executives of the largest four accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte & Touche and KPMG International, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka recommended auditors exercise “professional skepticism” in their review of stock option grants.
In Kentucky, Early Birds Plan to Get the Worms Out of Office
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Bernard Pollack, AFL-CIO field coordinator, sends us this report on the campaign to elect a working family-friendly governor in Kentucky. Kentucky union volunteer activists are learning the nuts and bolts of political mobilization to turn out the working family vote for Steve Beshear for governor on Nov. 6.
The sun wasn't near being up at 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, but more than 50 local union coordinator trainees were. Packed on a bus and armed with fliers outlining Steve Beshear's stance on economic issues, they were on their way to leaflet Louisville's Rubbertown industrial park, where 5,500 union members are employed at several locations. Their goal at the shift change action: get the information into the hands of as many of those union members as possible.
CEO Compensation: A Year’s Pay for a Day’s Work
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Although Labor Day celebrates America's workers, it seems that CEOs are getting all the gifts. CEOs of large U.S. companies last year made as much money in one day on the job as average workers made over the entire year, according to a new report. These top executives averaged $10.8 million in total compensation, over 364 times the pay of the average American worker.
The report, Executive Excess 2007 by the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy, was released today and shows that while CEOs are taking home obscene pay checks, the average worker is struggling to make ends meet.
Rally Calls for New Orleans Marshall Plan
Saying "Enough is enough!" hundreds of people rallied in New Orleans today to demand that the government create a regional Marshall Plan to restore the city and the Gulf Coast.
Leaders of the Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO, the United Teachers of New Orleans/AFT and members of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists joined with civil rights, community and religious groups for a Day of Presence to bring attention to the failure of the Bush administration to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
