The American Crystal Sugar Company Lockout Hits Hard

Stalled labor talks between American Crystal Sugar Company and its factory workers are taking a toll in Hillsboro, North Dakota, a town of 1,600 between Fargo and Grand Forks where the sugar beet factory is the largest employer.

Listen to the report from Minneapolis National Public Radio (MPR) here.

Connecticut Nurses Union Airing Ad Before Contract Talks

The Backus Federation of Nurses at the William R. Backus Hospital in Norwich has begun airing an advertisement on television in an effort to speed up contract talks. A three-day negotiating session was scheduled to begin with Backus Hospital on yesterday. 

Watch the ad here.

Union Workers Reject American Crystal Sugar Contract

Locked out union workers at American Crystal Sugar Company overwhelmingly rejected a second contract offer on yesterday. Union officials said 90 percent of the workers who voted turned down the latest contract offer from American Crystal, which they said did not address their concerns about job security and rising health insurance costs.

Listen to the report from Minnesota National Public Radio here.

UAW and Chrysler Reach Agreement

UAW leaders talked about the agreement made with Chrysler.

 

Watch the press conference here.

US Ecomonic Problems Are Backdrop Behind 'Occupy Wall Street' Protest

CBS News did a report on what the causes are that are spear-heading the Occupy Wall Street protests that have spread through the nation.

Watch the report here.

Ohio Anti-Union Group Creates Fake Endorsement In Television Ad

Ohio voters will go to the polls and decide the fate of the new anti-Union labor law (SB5) that would limit collective bargaining rights for state employees. The bill was recently passed by the GOP led state legislature and signed into law by newly elected Republican Governor John Kaschich. The new law sparked fury in the general public, however. A pro-Union organization recently spear-headed a petition to recall the new law (SB5). They collected over 900,000 valid signatures to recall this new law at the ballot box. They only need slightly more than 200,000 to put the law on the ballot for a vote.

A group called Building A Better Ohio, who supports the new anti-Union law, recently created a television advertisement about the new Union law. Unfortunately, they spliced the words of a pro-Union grandmother who was featured in a pro-Union advertisement explaining how her granddaughter was saved by Ohio firefighters and how this demonstrates why Ohioans need to protect firefighters' rights.

Here are the clips of both television advertisements.

This is the ad for protecting the collective bargaining rights of state employees in Ohio.

Here is the ad showing fake endorsement for SB5 by Building A Better Ohio.

Union and School District To Argue Before South Dakota Supreme Court

The South Dakota Supreme Court will hear an appeal involving the Sioux Falls School District. Non-teaching employees claim the district violated labor agreements for the 2008-2009 school year when the District provided a 2.5 percent raise rather than a three percent increase.

Here is a feed if you want to hear the argument live being made before the South Dakota Supreme Court. The appeal is scheduled to start at 11:00 CST.

Should Day Care Workers Be Unionized?

The state of Minnesota is debating this very issue right now. While Governor Dayton has stated that he does not believe that day care workers should be unionized, he does at least believe a vote should be taken on the issue.

Listen to a report on this story from Minnesota National Public Radio here.

Health Care Is Sticking Point Between Youngstown State University And It's Two Unions

A meeting was held between the sides on Monday. A spokesperson for the faculty Unions says the key issue is health care; what the premium will cost in the future and how lower-paid staff will afford it.

Watch a report on the story here from WFMJ.

UAW Rally Over Seniority

The United Auto Workers (UAW) are upset because they say Chrysler may not recognize union seniority status if an employee moves from one plant to another. They demonstrated in downtown Detroit on Sunday.

Watch the report from WJBK.

UAW Members Rally Over Seniority Concerns: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Constitutents Confront Representative Over Outsourcing and Trade

Republican Congresswoman Nan Hayworth (NY) has had a challenging month. Just a couple of weeks ago, she called the police on seniors trying to tell her not to cut Social Security and Medicare at her district office. Now she’s facing heat from constituents blasting her at a town hall meeting for her insistence on cutting taxes and allowing companies to ship jobs overseas.

Watch a video clip of town hall meeting here.

American Crystal Sugar Employees Strike

American Crystal Sugar and its Union employees continue to picket for the third day in a row over a dispute with the company on a new contract offer. As the strike continues, replacement workers are sent in to replace them. Some strikers have no problems with pay or benefits, but are concerned that the new contract includes a provision that would allow the company to replace Union workers with subcontractors. The company is located in Moorehead, Minnesota.

Listen to a report about the strike from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) here.

AFL-CIO President, Others Discuss Jobs and the Economy

Panelists talked about the state of the economy, unemployment, economic stimulus programs, and the outlook for job growth. The event was covered by C-SPAN.

Watch here.

No Deal Yet, Governor Dayton Takes His Case To Minnesotans

Today is the 13th day that Minnesota's government has been shutdown. But Governor Dayton and GOP legislatures have no plans to meet to continue talks today.

Listen to more on this story from Minnesota Public Radio(MPR) here.

Minnesota: More Negotiations Between Governor Dayton and GOP, But No Fix Yet

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton is scheduled to have more meetings with the GOP leaders in the state legislature over their standoff on the state budget which has led to a state shutdown.

Listen to the report from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) here.

Minnesota State Employees Anxiously Anticipates Shutdown, Layoffs

As Minnesota attempts to balance its state budget, a stalemate on how to balance the budget has grinded talks to a standstill. As a result, it is being anticipated that the majority of state workers could be laid off.

Listen to the story here from Minnesota Public Radio.

Failure to Reach State Budget Deal Will Likely Mean Minnesota Construction Projects Will To Grind To A Halt

As a state shutdown looms in Minnesota, the failure to reach a budget deal will do more damage to the state's economy. The state sent layoff notices to 36,000 state employees earlier this month. Without some of those workers, construction all across Minnesota will come to a halt. That will include road construction, commercial development and housing developments.

Listen here to the report from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR).

Protests At Trenton, New Jersey Budget Hearings

An upcoming vote in the New Jersey state legislature about public worker benefits highlights a rift between elected officials in the state Democratic party, with one faction opposed to cuts in public worker benefits and the other faction favoring the GOP position of cutting public worker benefits.

Watch protesters at the Trenton, New Jersey budget hearings.

New Jersey Education Association President Criticizes Dem State Senator's Bill That Raises Pensions And Benefits Costs For Public Workers

What is the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans? That question is getting harder to answer in states like New Jersey where some Democratic state legislatures are advocating the same policies of the GOP, increasing the burden on working class Americans to balance state budgets while refusing to ask wealthy Americans to pay a penny more to help.

Watch Barbara Keshishian, President of the NJEA, talk about this bill.

Minnesota Unions Launch TV Ads

Unions in Minnesota launch television ads to support a budget compromise that will avoid a shutdown.

Listen to the report on this story from Michigan Public Radio here.

Labor Online News Channel

Labor has its first online news channel called National Workforce Network (NWN). The channel will be covering news effecting middle class families in North America. The mission of NWN is to connect middle class families and individuals, labor organizations and their allies who are confronting similar issues.

Here is a preview of what you will see on the network. Watch.

Here is the link to the online news channel.

Minnesota State Employees Could Face Layoffs

If Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature fail to agree on a state budget by June 30, it could lead to what would arguably be the largest single layoff in state history.

Listen to the report here.

The GOP Against American Workers

Remember the debate a few years back about whether or not General Motors and Chrysler should be helped by the federal government to stay afloat? Every Republican outside the state of Michigan seemingly opposed the help to the US auto industry. Thank goodness that was not the prevailing wisdom in Washington. Today the US auto industry are already paying off those loans back to the federal government and are creating thousands of new jobs for Americans.

Here is a great spot put together by the Democratic National Committee and Democrats.org that shows Republicans in their own words advocating to let this industry collapse.

Watch. This is great stuff!

AFL-CIO Head To Speak Today At National Press Club

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, will speak today at the National Press Club at 1:00 pm. The event will be carried live on C-SPAN television or streamed live on C-SPAN.org. The event can also be watched live on at http://press.org/.

AFGE President John Gage Talks 2012 Budget

John Gage, President of the American Federation of Government Employees, was a guest on CSPAN's Washington Journal program on Sunday morning. He discussed  how the near government shutdown was handled and the potential impact on federal workers in the upcoming 2012 budget fight.

Watch.

AFL-CIO's Trumka: "Collective Bargaining A Civil Rights Issue"

The AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe program today. He discussed the issue of collective bargaining and its importance to workers.

Watch.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Powerful Pro Labor Ad

This strong ad was created by BoldProgressives.org. The ad footage was taken at a Madison, Wisconsin rally to support state workers who are under attack by the GOP. Tens of thousands attended this rally in cold, snowy conditions.

Watch.

Union Protesters Swarm DC Fundraiser For Wisconsin GOP

About 1,000 union protesters showed up at a Wisconsin Republican fundraiser held yesterday in Washington, DC.

Watch.

Wisconsin State Senator Talks About GOP ' Vote ' To Eliminate Collective Bargaining Rights

Chris Wragge talks to Wisconsin State Sen. David Hansen about the surprise vote by Republican colleagues to strip nearly all collective bargaining power from public workers last night.

Watch the interview.

United Steel Workers President Appears on ABC's This Week

Leo Gerard, United Steel Workers President, appeared in a roundtable discussion on ABC's This Week today to discuss the subject 'Made In America'. ABC News has recently started reporting on products made in America and  has entitled the series 'Made In America'. These segments have been very informative and have shed light on just how few household products are still manufactured in America today. The segments have also attempted to answer the question 'Why it's difficult to find 'Made In America' products in your home.

Watch.

AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka On Worker Rights

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President, appeared last night on PBS's News Hour program. He spoke with PBS's Judy Woodruff about how AFL-CIO members would be affected by pending state-level legislation across the nation that would cut collective-bargaining rights for public employees.

Watch the interview.

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, On Meet The Press

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, made an appearance yesterday on NBC's Meet The Press program in a round table discussion. Trumka was the only labor representative to appear on any Sunday news show since the Wisconsin protest started almost 2 weeks ago. Some 'liberal media'.

Watch Trumka.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Appeared On C-SPAN Today

Scott Ross, the Executive Director of One Wisconsin Now appeared on a viewer call-in segment this morning on CSPAN's Washington Journal. One Wisconsin Now is a statewide communications network specializing in effective media and online organizing to advance progressive leadership and values. One Wisconsin Now is a 501(c)4 non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization and is not affiliated with nor works with any political party. The group does not endorse nor oppose candidates for political office.

Steve Ross discusses the ongoing legislative battle between the Wisconsin Governor and state Democrats on the budget.

Watch.

AFL-CIO President On MSNBC's Morning Joe

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President, appeared this morning on the Morning Joe program to discuss Governor Walkers' attempt to eliminate collective bargaining for the majority of public workers in Wisconsin.

Watch.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SEIU Interview On GRITtv

With the constant national narrative on budget cutting from the Republicans and corporate media, there has been very little examination on the consequences of the budget cuts and how these cuts would affect working families across the nation.

Republican Governors across the nation have decided to 'declare war' on union workers under the banner of closing state budget shortfalls. Workers in states like Wisconsin have already agreed to wage and benefit reductions to help lessen the financial cost in state budgets, yet  that isn't apparently enough to Governors like Scott Walker. He wants unions of public employees in Wisconsin to give up their ability to collectively bargain.

Laura Flanders of GRITtv travels to Wisconsin to interview  various representatives of labor there to get insights on just what is happening there.

Watch.

More GRITtv

Corporate Media's Anti-Worker Slant

What did the corporate media all have in common last week? The manner in which they reported on the protests  taking place in Wisconsin.  As events have unfolded, the singular theme in the media's (television and print) coverage of these events have been attempts to generally attack and question the  motives of the public workers who are spearheading these protests.  Meanwhile, they have generally portrayed Governor Scott Walker's position as one of  reason and necessity to balance the state's budget.

What is constantly missing from the discussions about Wisconsin's fiscal situation is the option to slightly increase taxes on upper income earners in the state as a way to close some of that budget shortfall. That option is never a part of the mainstream media's discussions, whether they are covering Gov. Walker or any number of other Republican Governors who are attempting to balance budgets on the backs of the working class in states like Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, and Illinois.   Why?

Terms like "sacrifice" in the media and in Republican circles have come to mean "everyone except the wealthy." To avert situations like what we are witnessing in Wisconsin, all citizens should be asked to  take part in the "sacrifice" equation instead of just some.

Another problem was the resistance to covering the events in Wisconsin. It took several days before all of the mainstream news networks decided to cover these protests. With the exception of MSNBC's Ed Schultz, there was no other coverage initially. Yet, the Tea Party can show up with a crowd of 500 and every camera and correspondent is on air live with a mic interviewing the protesters. There were estimates from yesterday's crowd of around 60,000 protesters. There have been reports from actual participants that only a handful (a few thousand) were protesters in support of Governor Walker. Yet the majority of mainstream news networks portrayed the event as if the pro-Walker participants (50 thousand or more) were equal in number as the anti-Walker participants. Why?

On another note, the Sunday Morning News Show today continued to follow the pattern of down-playing the events in Wisconsin by not having schedule guests on to talk about the events. Fox News was the only show that had a guest on directly involved with the protest and of course that guess was Governor Walker himself. And he appeared, of course, unchallenged. The networks could not manage to book a representative of one of the local public sector unions there? Why is that if the media is constantly branded as "liberal" from the right?

Ed Schultz discussed the lack of media coverage with radio talk show host Joe Madison the other evening. Watch.

AFL-CIO President On CSPAN This Morning

Richard Trumka appeared on CSPAN's Washington Journal viewer call-in program today to talk about  about federal investment in the transportation system as a way to create jobs and spur the U.S. economy.  

Watch.

 

'Living Wage' Defined

The Center for American Progress explains what a living wage is and explores how it is beneficial to families, businesses, and the economy.

Watch.

Wisconsin's AFL-CIO Is Fighting Back Against Attacks On Union Workers

After Governor Walker proposed a plan to virtually eliminate the majority of collective bargaining rights for most public workers in Wisconsin, the state AFL-CIO on Sunday launched a major advertising campaign against the proposal.

Watch it.

Ohio Unions Are Under Attack

A current bill in the state legislature in Ohio would eliminate collective bargaining for state employees and workers at state colleges. The bill also would drastically limit the bargaining power of teachers, police, and firefighters in Ohio.

 A local Ohio television news station, WKRC, reported on this bill. Watch the report.

Wisconsin Teacher Unions Come Out Against Governor Walker

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has proposed a plan to strip union rights. It has bee reported that this plan would effect close to 175,000 public employees in the state. The teacher unions in Wisconsin have come out strongly against this proposal. A local Green Bay television news station interviewed the President of the Green Bay Educational Association Toni Lardinois.

Watch.

GM Hourly Workers To Receive $3,000 Profit-Sharing Bonus

All too often in America today we read so many stories about US companies cutting jobs and shipping them overseas or companies not paying workers living wages. So it was a great change of pace to read  about General Motors providing their hourly workers with at least $3,000 each in profit-sharing bonuses this year.

As I surfed online for more information on this news, I noticed that the anti-union/ anti-worker crowds are already out in force  repeating corporate anti-worker talking points ad nauseum. One commenter ridiculously urging others "not to buy from GM" or another commenter seemingly hoping that GM fails. I don't understand this insanity?

Do these individuals not realize it was companies like GM that basically built states like Michigan and the strong middle class life that is continuously reminisced about from the 50's and 60's? Do they not realize that without these type of jobs, you would not have a middle class that afforded so many households to have Moms waiting at home when their children returned from school? Do they not realize that these jobs, with their good wages and benefits, allowed so many Americans to send their children to college, often times for the first time in that families' history? 

This hatred of workers and unions is something that I truly do not understand? The union is there to represent the workers at the table when companies make important decisions about pay rates, benefits or whether or not to  add or cut jobs. Without jobs with good pay, there are no consumers to buy products or services. Without them where would any company be?

Here is a link to a video news report from a local Michigan television station about the GM worker bonus.

http://www.wnem.com/news/26791998/detail.html 

The President's Speech To The Chamber Of Commerce Today

President Obama tried once again today to get American corporations to start creating jobs in this country. He made references to President Franklin Roosevelt and the successful partnership he was eventually able to hammer out with big business. That partnership made America the #1 economic 'super power' in the world, creating the largest and most prosperous middle class the world had ever seen.

Watch.

Anti-Union Spin on New York Snow Storm In Doubt?

After the first major snow storm in New York, the story that emanated in the corporate media, was the union may be to blame for the slow snow removal. The story goes that five union workers were involved in staging a work "slowdown" that kept the city literally paralyzed. Two workers were from the transportation department and three were from the sanitation department. The workers purported to had mentioned to one city council member about the "slowdown". The two transportation workers have denied this claim and the three sanitation workers were never named by the council member.

Unfortunately, several people were reported to have died due to the delayed time it took emergency vehicles to reach residents in the bad road conditions. I was watching Morning Joe  and heard Wille Geist repeat the media narrative on air. But is it really true?

The city has recently made budget cuts to transportation and sanitation workers.  The good news is there was a federal investigation that was initiated after this disaster. But the bad news is that the investigation centered around the allegation of the union workers, but did not also include investigating recent worker layoffs as a possible problem for the slow removal of the snow. 

Councilman Daniel Halloran was the council member who started the story about the unions, but when he was questioned on specifics, his story changed and he would not provide the names of the sanitation workers who were supposedly involved. Halloran is a republican from Queens who has Tea Party support.

This anti-union narrative has become popular in the mainstream media as an excuse to blame organized government workers for everthing wrong in the country fiscally. How many times have you recently heard the meme that state workers should be cut in various states across the country to balance state budgets? 

While the investigation has not been completed, the media seemed eager to report, without verification, that the unions are to blame. The question is why does there seem to be an anti-union bias in our media? 

Watch this issue being discussed by Grittv's Laura Flanders.

AFGE President On Proposals To Cut Size Of Federal Government

John Gage, President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), made an appearance on a viewer call-in segment on CPAN's Washington Journal program this morning. Gage talked about the debate over how much federal employees are paid as well as the size and scope of federal agencies, the federal debt, and the federal deficit.

Watch.

Corporatists Attacks On Union Workers

Attacks on union workers have ratcheted up to a fever pitch in recent years. You can turn to one news channel after the other or on talk radio, and you will hear endless commentary from pundits about union workers and their exorbitant salaries.

The new wave of attacks surrounds public workers like teachers, police, and firefighters. Public workers, they say, should take pay cuts and reductions in benefits during a "down" economy to keep their jobs and help to close budget shortfalls in localities, states, and in the federal budget. Public workers are blamed for bankrupting localities and states. But are these assertions supported by facts?

In most places in America, public workers have already taken salary freezes and reductions in benefits. Case in point, just today it was reported in the Lansing State Journal that Michigan public workers have already given roughly $4.7 billion in pay and benefit cuts.   How much more much should they be asked to give up?

Will protectors of corporations and the wealthy be satisfied when American workers all earn no more than $9 per hour? How much more will working class Americans have to give up so the wealthy can continue to have their taxes lowered?

CSPAN recently had a viewer call-in segment on Washington Journal about state budget cuts around the country. The common cuts to budgets were reductions in police, firefighters, teachers, and other public service areas. Viewers called in with stories about extreme reductions in their town in critical areas that frankly endanger not only us as citizens but the men and women who work each and every day to protect us from crimes and fires.

The middle class is always being asked to sacrifice. But when was the last time you heard the wealthy asked to sacrifce? 

The Fight For Decent Wages For Workers

Many references were made to Dr. Martin Luther King this past week with the celebration of his birthday. But what often times does not get emphasized was that when he was killed in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, he was there for the purpose of joining the sanitation workers' fight for fair wages and good working conditions.

Watch Dr. King give a speech to  those sanitation workers just 1 day before he was killed.

 

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Makes Remarks On Labor Issues

The President of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, made remarks this morning at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Watch Trumka's remarks.

Really Corporatists, Offshoring Is Good For America?

On C-SPAN's Washington's Journal this morning one of the subjects for the call-in segment was US relations with China. China's President, Hu Jintao, is visiting President Obama this week and with the anticipation of the Hu-Obama Summit, this topic is obviously relevant.

During the segment a caller made a comment about all of the US offshoring of jobs to China and complained about how there are few things made in America today. The first response from the host this morning, Greta Wodele, was the typical corporate media or corporatist response to this type of sentiment. Greta implied in her response to the caller that if things would be still manufactured in the US, we as consumers would have to pay a higher price for these goods.

What is never mentioned during these discussions about alleged "benefits" of of cheaper products for US consumers as a result of shipping US manufacturing jobs overseas, is the enormous tax revenue that is lost to cities and counties, states, and the federal government. The loss of tens of millions of US manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor centers like China, means less tax revenues for things like your local roads, bridges, schools, police, fire fighters, and teachers. For example, in your local town if there was a manufacturing plant that employed 900 local residents that decides to move these 900 jobs to China, your local government now has to figure out a way to replace the tax revenues that will be lost from the salaries of those 900 workers. Guess how they will do it?

By raising your taxes (those of you who are living in that locality that still are employed). Have you ever seen the property assessment on your home dramatically increase in  one year when you've not made a single improvement to your home? Ever wonder why this happens? Simple. The higher the local government assesses your home value, the higher your property tax rates. Higher tax rates means you pay more in taxes.

Those that support shipping US jobs overseas for cheap labor never explain that there will be many negative effects that you and I will experience as a result of those jobs being shipped overseas. That $5 or $10 we are "saving" on some item in stores like Walmart, is in turn costing us to pay higher taxes on our homes and cars. Or more in local, state, and federal income taxes.

After thinking about it in that context, are you still eager to save that measly $5 or $10 now in Walmart for a pair of pants?

Non-Union Companies Means Lower Wages For Workers?

I was channel surfing last night and came across CBS's Undercover Boss. This program is a reality television series that takes CEO's of companies and puts them to work with entry level employees from their own companies. These employees are not told about this and do no learn that they've been working with the "boss" until later. This particular episode featured the founder and CEO of Belfor Restoration, a billion dollar disaster recovery and property restoration company founded in Michigan in the 1980's.

In instance after instance last night while the CEO, Sheldon Yellen, went to work with entry level employees on various assignments, he discovered that many of his employees were not making enough in salary to pay their bills. One employee was working side jobs along with his job at Belfor to try and make ends meet. Another employee had worked an entire year after her promotion without receiving the new salary increase that was supposed to accompany her promotion. She could not even pay her bills. 

My first thought, these employees are doing very hard physical labor all day and are still not able to make enough in salary to pay their bills. Second thought, is this company unionized? Take an educated guess. It is not. While the CEO of this company certainly showed a lot of heart, emotion, and compassion about the fact that many of his employees were working very hard for him everyday and yet were still unable to make ends meet due to apparent low salaries at the company, it illustrates yet again the importance of having unions at companies to represent the employees so that they can have a voice at the table when important decisions are made at companies about what the compensation should be, what benefits packages should be, and whether or not there should be salary freezes or not so that you don't have situations like what had been occurring at Belfor, a billion dollar company.

In my own work experience, the job that paid better wages and benefits was at a company that was unionized. The jobs that were non-unionized paid substantially lower wages and benefits. In states like West Virginia, union worker wages are 11.1% higher than non-union worker wages. According to a July 2010 Bureau of Labor Statitstics report on wages, union workers earn an average of $4.95 per hour more than non-unionized workers which equates to $10,300 annually. Although wages vary based on sector and occupation, it is clear when viewing wage data that the union worker has the advantage.  This is the connection that corportist in America do not want average Americans to make.

Here is a clip from last night's episode.

Child Labor Laws Unconstitutional?

Didn't our country settle this debate over 100 hundred years ago? Apparently not according to US Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah who is now stating that child labor laws are unconstitutional. Child labor laws includes many rules and statutes that regulates the employment of minors. The laws affect those under the age of 18. In 1836 the state of Massachusetts was the first to create a child labor laws which states that children under the age of 15  working in factories had to attend school at least 3 months per year.

Watch Senator Lee.

US Chamber Wants A Low Wage Nation?

On CPAN's Washington Journal this morning the US Chamber of Commerce executive vice president, David Chavern, appeared on a viewer call-in segment. Like all others from anti-union and anti-worker organizations, Chavern voiced his opposition to the minimum wage when asked about it by a caller. A minimum wage is is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers.

The minimum wage concept was first introduced as way to control the proliferation of sweat shops in manufacturing industries.  A sweat shop was a working environment considered to be dangerous or difficult especially by developed countries with high standards of living like the United States. The sweat shops employed large numbers of women and young workers, paying them what were considered to be substandard wages. The sweat shop owners were thought to have unfair bargaining power over their workers, and a minimum wage was proposed as a means to make them pay "fairly." The minimum wage was first introduced nationally in the United States in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

 The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Do you know anywhere an individual can live today in the United States today off of $7.25 per hour? And yet you have the vice president of the largest organization in the United States representing businesses saying that minimum wages are "counter productive".

Watch the US Chamber of Commerce Vice President talk about the minimum wage.

If Unions Can Take Concessions Why Can't The Wealthy?

I read an article today about firefighters in Fremont California agreeing to take concessions to give up pay and accept furloughs for the next 6 months to help the city balance it's budget and to eliminate fire station closures. The firefighter union President stated that it was important for us to help in the community.

The question that instantly popped into my mind was why are the wealthy citizens in Fremont not being asked to contribute to balancing the city's budget by paying slightly more in taxes?

There seems to be a re-occurring theme around the nation where working class Americans in unions are asked to take pay freezes and/or benefit cuts to balance budgets while politicians are not asking those at the top to sacrifice at all. In fact politicians are busy cutting their taxes. What is wrong with this picture?

In addition to the concessions the firefighters have already made, it has been reported that the city is also going to ask the firefighters to make further concessions by reducing pension benefits for future employees.

When will those in charge learn that budgets cannot be balanced on the backs of the working class alone? Those who are wealthy must also be asked to sacrifice by contributing slightly more in taxes. Wages for the working class cannot be continuously lowered to a point where the salaries are no longer meeting living wage standards just so taxes can stay flat or be reduced for wealthy Americans. This economic approach does not work. The US nationally has been doing this for about 10 years now and all we have to show for it are large deficits and very few jobs.

A Conservative Paradise: A Jobless Economy?

I came across an article on the Chicago Breaking News Center this morning. The article was about a 34-year old Gary firefighter, Jason Pickering, who had been recently laid off. He had worked in that department for 10 years and has a family of 6. 33 other Gary firefighters have also lost their jobs due to recent layoffs.

Pickering told a local Chicago news station that " We took an oath to save people's lives...and the city just threw us to the curb." He is now panhandling on the streets and protesting the layoffs.

The city of Gary was in a cash crunch due to the decline in the economy.The city has applied for federal grants to bring the firefighters back, but the grant has not been approved thus far. Nationally, DC Republicans have been in the media talking about cutting domestic spending which will mean more firefighters like Pickering will lose their jobs.

America has come a long way when a 10 year firefighter can not find employment. But what is even more disheartening than the city of Gary laying off firefighters were the comments from the readers.

Here is a sample.

"If this man was just laid off 3 weeks ago and is already stone broke....he was not handling his money all too well. I have to believe he is just doing this to tick certain people off. If not, he was living like ALOT of Americans...WELL above their means."

"What the heck, why do cops, teachers, firemen, and union people think they are any different from me. They should be laid off if there is no money just like I have been as a architect for two freaking years. I bet this moron was one of the many millions that voted for CHANGE, how is that working for you? Next time vote for a person's ability not because the misguided people of America thought it would be cool to have the first black, white, non-American president. So stop crying, shut-up and realize you are no different from the other unemployed professionals in the U.S. approx 10%."

"A fire fighter laid off? and..... I had to close when nipsco started doing my job and I had no boot out there, lay off 75% of cops and go to an all volunteer FD lay off everyone in the mayors office but him and his sec. all dept heads can be 1 town manager, no take home squads, no more bilking the have nots with 150k jobs for family, no job pays over $40,000 for now, insurance 1/2 the year unless they want to pay the other 1/2 and non union hiring and save 10 million on a 2 million dollar bid!!"

"That's right libs. We cannot afford lavish pay and 100% lifetime pensions on these unionized employees. The UNIONS are bankrupting America....Duh!"

"Oh give me a break! This is clearly a stunt probably orchestrated by his stinking union. He's more than eligible for public aid and doesn't need to be pan handling. I'm a sole proprietor so haven't been eligible for any public aid despite long periods of time without income. It makes me sick that these government union morons are so stupid, selfish and dishonest."

Is there no knowledge to the average American of just how bad our economy is? Do they not know that for every 1 job there are 4 or 5 applicants? Can they not do simple addition to figure out there is a major job shortage in America when you look at the jobs to applicants ratio?

To add to this mess, you have union haters, the majority of congressional Republicans, who are chomping at the bit to cut essential services. Is there no common sense understanding that the more Americans that a) have jobs, b) have jobs  that pay living wages and benefits, the less people you will have on welfare, food stamps, section 8, and other social programs?  You would have more citizens paying income taxes which then in turn are used to pay for essential services like police, fire departments, and teachers.

You cannot do everything you can to destroy the majority of unions and union jobs which pay living wages and benefits and think you can still have an environment where businesses can flourish. No business can flourish without customers. There are no customers unless there are many well paying jobs in every community across the nation so that citizens can earn enough money that is  necessary to buy the products and services that businesses provide.

Republicans And Media Go After Public Employee Unions

Dylan Ratigan of the Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC discussed the latest "controversy" about the response of snow clean up during the recent blizzard in Brooklyn New York. There were many complaints by residents about the clean up of the snow being extremely slow. Republicans have used the complaints to attack public sector unions who have workers that were involved in the clean up. Some in the corporate media have repeated the Republican  attacks over the airwaves on the public sector unions without any substantiation of the claims.

Watch.

What Happened To America?

For those 40 years of age and over, do you remember an America where anyone from the poorest of backgrounds with no education or work experience could get a job at a major company and work their way into middle class life? At age 43, I have watched our great country go from a land of opportunity for virtually all it's citizens who were willing to work hard to a land where even citizens with multiple college degrees and countless years of work experience are unable to find jobs. What happened in four decades to change things so drastically overnight?

For one the powers that control America kept changing the bar. What do I mean? We went from a nation where high school dropouts could get jobs at major manufacturing companies and work their way to the American Dream.  Then the rules starting changing and we were told "you need to have a high school diploma to get these jobs." The next bar change: "you need to have some college or certifications to get these jobs." The next bar change: " you need to have a college degree to get these jobs." The next bar change: "you need a graduate degree to get these jobs." How is it that the majority of Americans from WWII to the 1970's could master the tasks necessary to successfully manufacture quality products in America with no education beyond high school or previous work experience? From that time period the United States of America was #1 economically in the world with the new creation of this strong middle class . So why change the system if that system made you #1?

Today, to land the few jobs that are still available in manufacturing, you have to have all kinds of certifications and or college degrees or countless years of experience (like ten years in some areas) to try to land that same entry level job? Rarely are there opportunities to get a job and be trained. Why? To the elite running these corporations, are Americans no longer trainable? That doesn't make sense. There is no evidence of that.

Remember when you filled a job application today and were hired today? Now, the hiring process can literally drag out months. I've even heard stories of hiring processes that lasted six months and the applicant had even forgotten about applying for the job in the first place, when one day they receive an email or letter in the mail referencing the application. It only takes a few days to run background checks. So what has changed in the system?

I was watching cable news during the summer and heard a report that I never heard again stating that there were currently over two million vacant jobs at American corporations. This at a time when over fifteen million Americans are unemployed and another several million more are under-employed.

The reason for all of this is that the majority of American CEO's and politicians running these corporations and the country today have no allegiance to America. CEO's do not care whether Americans, who built their companies to begin with, now have jobs or not. They do not care if our entire country collapses. Their only allegiance is to their shareholders and the almighty dollar or in the case of politicians their allegiance is to big money they get from corporate America to get re-elected. This mindset is the only thing that can account for CEO's like Aetna's Ron Williams who last year dropped 600,000 policy holders from it's roles while he made $38,000,000 in salary. Or the US defense department outsourcing procurement to foreign countries. Or US state governments outsourcing IT and administrative jobs that contain sensitive data (like your social security numbers and tax data) to foreign countries which obviously poses security risks. Or American toy company CEO's who offshored their manufacturing only to wound up importing toys back to America that are now unsafe for our children because of dangerous toxins that can be used for foreign manufacturers just to save a buck in labor costs.

Welcome to the new America where there are mainly low wage jobs or no jobs at all.