Labor
Labor Unions May Have To Abandon Obama to Beat Corporate America
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 16:25 — Dave CulverLabor unions need to start fighting their battles in the workplace, not on Capitol Hill.
Mike Elk, AlterNet
As president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka is emerging as the voice of an increasingly irrelevant labor movement. As unionized work sinks to only 7 percent of the private sector, the labor movement is losing its influence within the Democratic Party. To revitalize labor, Trumka must not only challenge Democratic leaders, but wage political battles outside the bounds of party politics by bringing labor back to its working-class activist roots.
The failure of President Barack Obama to make a major push on the Employee Free Choice Act -- let alone give even a single speech dedicated to the topic -- is a telling sign of organized labor's declining momentum inside the Beltway. As Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson noted in February, "For American labor, year one of Barack Obama's presidency has been close to an unmitigated disaster." Labor ranks so low on the president's list of priorities that a new generation of Obama activists is now planning for a political environment altogether devoid of the labor movement.
Government workers fired for credit problems
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:49 — Dave CulverThere should be a credit counseling and consolidation program as there is in the armed forces.
Bad credit dings job seekers.
Rick Nagin, People's World
Federal employees, classified as "security risks" because of credit problems, protested mass firings and suspensions at a hearing with Congresswoman Marcia Fudge here (Cleveland, OH) April 23.
The American Federation of Government Employees Local 3283, called the meeting to air grievances after the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) fired 20 workers and began discharge proceedings against 54 others at its office in Cleveland. The agency issues pay checks to military personnel and government officials.
Under a policy enacted under the Bush Administration in 2005 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, DFAS employees were reclassified to require security clearances and be subject to termination for credit problems.
Related:
Bad credit dings job seekers, Keith Goldberg, Times Herald-Record | NY
Should a person's credit report prevent them from getting work?
States, others seek to end credit checks of applicants
Older Workers Fighting on Many Fronts
Tue, 05/11/2010 - 14:27 — Dave CulverOlder workers trying to keep their jobs face employers who appear more willing to continue eliminating those jobs — often higher-paid due to longer, loyal employment tenures — as part of the relentless rounds of cost-cutting.
Unemployment has remained at record levels for older workers, who also face the longest average duration of joblessness of all age groups. Half of the unemployed age 55 and older have been out of work for six months or more.
While the unemployment percentage rate of older workers is significantly lower than for other age groups, the longer duration of joblessness indicates how much tougher it is for older workers to find new jobs. The difficulty of gaining new employment for older workers comes as their need for jobs and income has increased.
Myths of the Deficit
Mon, 05/10/2010 - 15:48 — Dave Culver- Why do people think that it is more important for the government to reduce the deficit now, rather than to spend money to create jobs?
- It makes perfect sense to borrow money now to address (unemployment and related) problems, and we shouldn‘t let myths about budget deficits get in the way of meeting these real needs.
- Deficit Hawks Trying To Scare People With Big, Out-Of-Context Numbers
- The Government Needs to Forget About the Deficit and Fix Unemployment
Marty Wolfson, Dollars & Sense
Nearly 15 million people are officially counted as unemployed in the United States, and more than 6 million of these have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks. Another 11 million are the “hidden” unemployed: jobless workers who have given up looking for work and part-time workers who want full-time jobs. Unemployment has especially affected minority communities; the official black teenage unemployment rate, for example, stands at 42%.
The moral case for urgently addressing the unemployment issue is clear. The costs of unemployment, especially prolonged unemployment, are devastating. Self-worth is questioned, homes are lost, families stressed, communities disrupted. Across the land, the number one issue is jobs, jobs, jobs.
