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Cast Your Vote for ‘Scrooge of the Year’
It’s the holiday season and time once again to say “bah humbug” to the most cold-hearted and greedy CEOs, corporations and politicians who exemplify the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge.
This is the 10th year that Jobs with Justice (JwJ) has “honored” the person or group that has done the most to “scrooge” workers. And given the current crop of nominees—Bank of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hyatt Hotels, Publix Supermarkets and student loan providers—it looks like it will be a hard decision to pick just one.
You can cast your vote for any of these deserving nominees here. The winner will be announced Dec. 21.
First, there’s Bank of America, which had a hand in the worst of the subprime lending excesses, providing financing to four of the top five largest subprime lenders during the years prior to the crash. Among them, these four firms issued more than $320 billion in subprime loans from 2005-2007. As a result of these kinds of abuses, Bank of America helped crash the economy and then accepted bailouts and backstops totaling $199.2 billion.
Next, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the second nominee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has become a front group for a few narrow interests, not a membership association that represents the voice of mainstream American businesses.
The Chamber opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, paid sick days and other basic workers’ rights. Recently, members of the U.S. Chamber have been renouncing their membership—including major corporations and local chambers of commerce that have quit or distanced themselves, in large part because of the Chamber’s extreme stance on environmental issues.
In Boston, Hyatt Hotels fired the entire housekeeping departments of its three nonunion hotels, replacing long-time employees who were paid around $15 an hour with subcontracted workers paid the minimum wage. It gets worse: Hyatt required Boston-area housekeepers to train their replacements before they were fired.
At unionized Hyatt hotels in San Francisco and Chicago, Hyatt is using the recession as an excuse to roll back health care and other hard-won contract standards. In Indianapolis, San Antonio, Long Beach and elsewhere, Hyatt is fighting its own workers as they seek a fair process to organize a union. Penny Pritzker, who is chairwoman of four Hyatt-related companies, has come out strongly against the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field for workers seeking to join a union.
Then there’s Publix Supermarkets, which had 2008 revenues of more than $24 billion, but refuses to pay just one penny more per pound for its tomatoes to directly improve worker’s wages. Publix also won’t work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to implement a code of conduct to protect farm workers’ basic human rights.
Other corporations, including Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Subway and Publix competitor Whole Foods, already have agreed to pay an additional one cent per pound. Publix, on the other hand, continues to purchase tomatoes from two of the growers tainted by last year’s modern-day slavery prosecution.
Finally, an increasing number of students depend on private companies like Sallie Mae, Citibank and other lenders for loans to finance their college educations, yet these loans get little oversight from government regulators. Private student loans are expensive and mostly variable-rate loans that cost more for those who can least afford them. They lack the flexible repayment options of federal student loans, functioning more like a credit card than a student loan.
Whoever wins the Scrooge award will join an infamous group. Last year’s winner was the entire lot of Wall Street executives whose unchecked corporate greed led to our nation’s economic disaster.
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You can cast your vote here: http://www.jwj.org/scrooge/
“This is the 10th year that Jobs with Justice (JwJ) has “honored” the person or group that has done the most to “scrooge” workers.”
Without any question, politician Barack Obama is the person “that has done the most to “scrooge” workers”. Obama, running with the massive support of corporate money (greater amounts than received by the Republicans), has magnificently deluded working people people into thinking that he would bring about a “change” away from the Bush foreign and domestic policies.
Instead Barack Obama has rewarded corporate America with policies that further promote the massive wealth accumulation of a tiny 5% minority that owns 90% of the wealth. Wall Street bankers received trillions of dollars in “bail out” money. The military-industrial complex is now reaping additional billions by expanding the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The “health care” insurance industry parasites will reap billions more profit with the toxic “health care reform” being pushed through Congress.
With this massive looting of the economy by corporations and capitalists leaves “no money left” to help the vast majority of society, the working people and their families.
For several decades real wages have remained the same as capitalist globalization has taken wiped out millions of jobs. The most recent collapse of the capitalist economy that has further destroyed millions of jobs. Tax cuts for the corporations and wealthiest has resulted in the degradation of public education, destruction of public health, shut down of essential state services all around the country.
The “group” that has most “scrooged” working people is the Democratic Party. The Democrats have been so corrupted by corporate money and agendas, that it has become the “golden rule” party: Gold rules. Only about 10 percent of the Democrats can be considered “pro-labor”.
A runner up prize might go to Richard Trumka. In slavishly supporting the corporate controlled Democrats and Obama. By refusing to support “single-payer” Medicare-for-All, he has used the powerful resources of the AFL-CIO in supporting Obama’s corrupt “health care reform”.
Goes to show you how fair the AFL-CIO and Richard Trumka are to actually print your garbage. I have personally heard President Trumka say on several occasions that he supports single payer health care. If you want to do something about it, go out and help un-elect some of the members of the U.S. Congress and Senate who get elected and then do not do what the people want.
1. “Goes to show you how fair the AFL-CIO and Richard Trumka are to actually print your garbage.”
I agree.
2. “I have personally heard President Trumka say on several occasions that he supports single payer health care.”
So what? Obama also said, during the campaign, that he supported “single payer” health care. But when in Office, he totally betrayed the interests of the people to corporate profit interests.
What is needed today is a leadership that speaks out for the needs of all working people for affordable and universal health care that is most cost effective. Only single-payer, that eliminates corporate greed from health-care management, can deliver these essentials
I wish President Trumka would today call a press conference and declare that he is in full agreement with the delegates at the September convention. Further Mr. Trumka should declare further that the AFL-CIO now fully supports the “single-payer” Medicare for All legislation.
3.”If you want to do something about it, go out and help un-elect some of the members of the U.S. Congress and Senate who get elected and then do not do what the people want.”
No individual, or even small groups of people organized into a “third party”, has the personnel, time or money to bring about change. Only the existing organized labor movement with millions of dues-paying members, has any real possibility of making a change.
The AFL-CIO supported Obama and the Democrats in the last election with millions of dollars and man-hours. This massive effort was really against the Republicans (McCain and Pallin). Obama’s propaganda promoted the hope and belief that by electing Obama and enabling the Democrats to fully control Congress, real “change” would be possible.
The Obama/Democratic party administration in power has smashed all such hopes and illusions. Instead of needed change from the Bush/Cheney regime, Obama has continued with the same Wall Street gangsters in control of the economy, has expanded the wars, has enabled the Health care corporations to literally write the legislation that need to expand profits, etc.
Meanwhile the critical needs of working people are now “off the table” and there is “no money left” to end the unemployment and impoverishment of millions of working people.
President Trumka should now, today, should issue a call to form a new political party that rejects corporate money and agendas. The new party will represent the economic needs of working people, organized and unorganized, and start running people for office in November 2010.
There are thousands of well educated professionals already in the organized labor movement who would make excellent candidates at every level of government (local, state, federal) to dump the corporate controlled Democratic and Republican crooks.
(Unionized teachers should run for school boards, etc.)
A people’s platform should be developed bringing in the knowledge and experience of thousands of working people and activists in “single issue” campaigns.
The corporate take over of government at every level must end. Only then will wars for profit end. Only then will serious measures to end global warming end. The military budget must be cut in half. Tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations must end. The vast corporate looting of the public treasury must end. Only when this is done can public education be rebuilt, public health established, etc.
Most of all, new jobs must be created to employ the millions of unemployed. But these jobs are needed now. The jobs to rebuild America’s economy cannot wait for capitalists, who don’t want to pay for “living wage” jobs, and forever want to maximize profit by impoverishing labor.
A new socialist economy must be developed that phases out the capitalist economic model. For example, the AFL-CIO should establish a national non-profit housing corporation, to build affordable and quality housing that would attract home buyers.
(Read previous archived articles of the the shoddy building practices of the most profitable giants of home building. Instead of complaining and protesting such practises, they should be eliminated with worker-owned and managed contruction companies. )
My scrooge is Clayton Phillips who forced people on workman’s compensation to work and then denied he said it. Of course AFGE stood back and did not ask why this was done.I am glad that I am retired and do not have to endure this humiliation as a disabled veteran, but, now I get it at home. Thanks to the military for ruining my life.
Jerry Wells, the right wing have tea baggers. The left have you. Thanks for bringing more lunacy and distraction to the discussion. With freinds like you……….
Hey, All Workers Unite! I had the exact opposite reaction to Jerry Wells’ statement about a labor party. It gave me the first ray of hope I’ve felt in quite awhile.
scrooge” workers = Warren Buffet & Un-American Group & Rocky Mtn. Power
He and fellow scrooge” have came at UWUA Local 127 here in Wyoming with 27 take-always including our pension, veterans day, increase medical, personal days and more.
STUFF IT BUFFET