People’s World

June 1, 2021 Yale workers and community join in common struggles

For millions of workers, getting through the pandemic has been a major struggle for survival, while the largest corporations have enriched their wealth.  The pandemic exposed the systemic, raw inequities in health, housing, and employment for Black and Latino families who suffered more losses.

These realities are shaping workers’ struggles emerging from COVID-19. One example is the epic battle for new union contracts and funding for the city now unfolding between the workers and the city standing up to Yale University.

Sept 21, 2020 Tediously analyzing Biden won't get us far - Its time to mobilize and organize

Knocking on doors in my diverse, low- to middle-income working-class neighborhood, almost everyone I talk to says they will vote to dump Trump and elect Biden-Harris.

The next six weeks will see a struggle critical to the future of our country and all of humanity. Claims to leadership in the post-election struggles will be judged not by how precisely we analyze the nature of Biden-Harris and reluctantly conclude that they must be elected, but by how effectively we organize our families, neighbors, friends, co-workers. By how we participate with our unions and our community or environmental or civil rights organizations to register voters, turn them out, and secure the vote. By how we participate in and initiate rallies and events on racial justice and the unemployment and eviction crises, linking them to the election and its outcome.

April 3, 2020 If government asks for a COVID 19 war economy lets do it right

President Trump is portraying himself as a “wartime president” in the battle against COVID-19, saying the pandemic will require a response unseen since World War II. “We must sacrifice together because we are all in this together,” he said.

Instead of Trump’s reality show, a real war on COVID-19 is needed, including strong economic measures.

There are many differences between the challenges facing us now, and those during World War II. To begin with, the U.S. economy is very different, and the threats posed by today’s pandemic are different from the Nazi/fascist threat. But there are valid analogies, stemming from the need in both cases for a strong and unified national response.

What are some lessons for today from World War II?

Oct 23, 2019 Students rally against detention of classmate by ICE

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Students at Wilbur Cross High School got a civics lesson that may be more valuable than a year in the classroom. Dozens of students, along with their teachers and staff rallied on October 18 in support of classmate Mario Aguilar Castañon, who is being held by ICE without bond pending deportation. Community supporters and elected officials swelled the crowd to several hundred. Mayor Toni Harp, who defied Trump in supporting sanctuary policies for New Haven, opened the rally on the steps of City Hall.

Oct 2, 2019 Who really threatens world oil supplies

The U.S. response to the Mideast crisis is not about protecting the world’s oil supply. It is to tighten control of the world’s oil supply, to protect profits for the U.S. oil monopolies, and to further control by U.S. global financial, military, and other corporations. This comes at the expense of the world’s working people, including those of the United States; it also comes at the expense of humanity’s future.

April 18, 2019 Stop & Shop strikers get boost from AFL CIO head Richard Trumka

NEW HAVEN, Conn.—”We have your back today, tomorrow, and as long as it takes.” That was the message from Richard Trumka on the seventh day of a strike by 31,000 Stop & Shop grocery store workers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. He spoke at a spirited rally of 200 striking workers and supporters from other unions and community. Trumka is president of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation.

Jan 29, 2018 A Quiet Wall St coup-de-etat pulled off in Connecticut

A quiet coup d’état has taken place in Connecticut. The legislature has effectively turned over control of the state to Wall Street. This was the conclusion I drew from a presentation by Connecticut Voices for Children.

After four months without a budget in the summer and fall of 2017, the state’s legislature and governor reached a budget deal. Ruling out any new taxes on the rich or giant corporations, the budget increased taxes on middle and lower income working people, imposed further cuts on public workers including a special tax on teachers, and continued years of austerity cuts to almost every state program.

But that wasn’t enough for the corporate forces. As part of the budget deal, they got four stealth provisions. Together, they not only enact austerity in this budget — they cast austerity policies in concrete. And — they bind four handcuffs of gold on future governors and legislators by making it legally impossible to undo the damage!

Aug 16, 2017 Summer jobs are one way to stem youth violence

For New Haven, an additional 2,000 summer jobs might cost between four and six million dollars. This would include additional hiring of outreach workers, supervisors, planning, and supplies. This might not be possible for an already overstretched city budget. But imagine the impact on our communities, our schools, and the lives saved if a normal and accepted part of life for all of our youth were access to a summer job, learning useful skills, working with others, contributing to the community, and earning much-needed income.

And imagine if those summer jobs for youth were part of a much larger national jobs program that could put millions of all ages to work rebuilding our infrastructure, preserving our environment, educating our kids, and meeting the countless needs of our communities.

July 14, 2017 To fix state budgets tax the rich

Summer jobs for teenagers have been canceled, state college and university charges keep rising, and every area of public life is affected by the state’s budget crisis — all in the second wealthiest state in the country, with the second highest level of inequality.

Connecticut’s budget shortfall is projected at about $2 billion per year. Yet, the wealthiest residents face a lower effective tax rate than the rest of us, and hundreds of millions are lost every year through corporate loopholes, special exemptions, legal tax avoidance, and outright tax evasion. If the wealthiest households paid at the same rate as the rest of us, more than $2 billion per year would be raised, erasing the deficit!

May 19, 2017 Resistance at Yale inspires unity for worker rights

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The fast by Yale graduate teachers in Unite Here Local 33 will enter its 27th day as Yale’s Commencement processional wends its way through the New Haven Green on Monday, May 22.  An unprecedented gathering of many thousands from New Haven, across the state of Connecticut, and up and down the Eastern Seaboard, will mark that day with a powerful show of unity and solidarity to demand that Yale stop stalling and negotiate a first contract now.

May 9, 2017 Hunger strikers expose Yale-Trump axis

When Yale University refused to negotiate a first contract with graduate workers following an overwhelming NLRB election victory in eight departments, it was clear that this $25 billion institution was relying on their Trump administration connections to torpedo recognition of UNITE HERE Local 33.

Instead of giving up in despair, the determined graduate teachers launched a “fast against slow.” Eight Local 33 leaders inspired by Gandhi, César Chávez and Martin Luther King, Jr. decided they would not eat or drink anything except water until President Peter Salovey begins talks. In Beinecke Plaza adjacent to the administration building and Salovey’s office, the union erected a structure which is staffed around the clock.

Mar 8, 2017 Resisting Deportations: Trump's New Fugitive Slave Law

Some time back in the history of the United States, states like Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Michigan had large populations of immigrants – people who had broken laws to get to their new homes. The federal government demanded that officials in those states deport "illegals," but these orders were met with widespread resistance from radicals.

Feb 23, 2017 Resisting the deportations Trump's modern day fugitive slave act

Once before in U.S. history, states like Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Michigan had a large population of migrants – people who had broken laws to reach their new homes. The federal government required officials of those states to deport the “illegals,” but the orders met with widespread resistance from radicals.

The year was 1850, and the law was the Fugitive Slave Act. It required officials and all citizens of Northern states to assist in deporting escaped slaves, or anyone a Southerner claimed was an escaped slave, to a brutal and usually short life of horrendous labor on the cotton and sugar cane plantations of Mississippi and Louisiana.

I thought of this history after attending a meeting of activists from around Connecticut to organize resistance and support for the tens of thousands of families (millions nationwide), who have been thrown into fear of being torn apart as fathers or mothers face raids, arrests, and deportations.

Feb 23, 2017 Resisting the deportations Trump's modern day fugitive slave act

Once before in U.S. history, states like Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Michigan had a large population of migrants – people who had broken laws to reach their new homes. The federal government required officials of those states to deport the “illegals,” but the orders met with widespread resistance from radicals.

The year was 1850, and the law was the Fugitive Slave Act. It required officials and all citizens of Northern states to assist in deporting escaped slaves, or anyone a Southerner claimed was an escaped slave, to a brutal and usually short life of horrendous labor on the cotton and sugar cane plantations of Mississippi and Louisiana.

I thought of this history after attending a meeting of activists from around Connecticut to organize resistance and support for the tens of thousands of families (millions nationwide), who have been thrown into fear of being torn apart as fathers or mothers face raids, arrests, and deportations.

Nov 1, 2016 Halloween treats included voter registration forms

While we passed out oatmeal creme pies to the kids and admired their costumes, we gave their parents the Connecticut print edition of Peoples World, stuffed with a reprint of Jarvis Tyner’s article Defeat Trump, Defeat Racism and a flier comparing Clinton’s and trump’s positions on the issues. Then we asked the parents, “Are you registered to vote?”

May 18, 2016 Rally for job security at Yale

NEW HAVEN — Up to 2,000 union members and community allies filled Cedar Street at the Yale Medical School May 5 to support 986 union members whose jobs are threatened. Clerical and technical workers are concerned that their jobs will be transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital, which is non-union.

July 16, 2015 The push is on to save Social Security, create jobs for youth

Support for the Employ Young Americans Now Act is not only an instance of solidarity between the generations of working class people; it important for guaranteeing the future of Social Security.

July 22, 2015 Connecticut legislators whose side are they on

HARTFORD — As the Connecticut General Assembly’s special session approaches, the elected legislators must decide whose side they are on. Connecticut is the wealthiest state, with the highest inequality between the wealthy hedge fund managers and financial billionaires, and some of the poorest cities in the country. Will the legislators submit to corporate blackmail, or will they stand up for the working families and the children? Will thousands of kids be denied medical care, youth programs and adequate schools, or will corporate tax-dodgers be forced to pay their taxes?

April 28, 2015 Today in History US invasion of Dominican Republic teaches lessons today

Fifty years ago, on April 28, 1965, U.S. armed forces landed in the Dominican Republic. Within weeks, more than 20,000 U.S. troops were fighting in support of a military regime, against the forces of the constitutionally elected government. Despite popular support, the constitutionalist forces could not hold out against the power of the U.S. military.

The U.S. invasion was justified as protecting American lives. Within days, this was changed to preventing a Communist takeover. Similar excuses had been given 49 years earlier, when U.S. troops had occupied the Dominican Republic. In each case, the real reasons could be found in the profits of the Wall Street banks and the U.S. sugar and mining interests.

Oct 1, 2014 Groundbreaking 1984 strike inspires organizing today

NEW HAVEN – Scores of Local 34 Unite Here members at Yale and their sisters and brothers from Locals 35 and GESO gathered on Cross Campus during lunch break last Wednesday for ballons, speeches and birthday cake. to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the historic strike by Local 34 clerical and technical workers which won their first union contract.  

Despite current battles brewing, Yale’s new president, Peter Salovey, came by to shake hands with each of the workers, recognizing the respect they had won in the hard fought 1984 battle.  

Two days later, on the actual anniversary, the Peoples Center was filled with retirees and current Yale workers telling their stories.  A video of strike photos taken by Local 34 member Joe Taylor was premiered, followed by a panel and then open discussion highlighting recollections of those who participated and led the organizing drive and strike.

April 7, 2014 Workers and patients fight back against hospital consolidation

NEW HAVEN Conn. – Affordable, quality health care and secure, union jobs are both threatened by the growing consolidation and monopolization of the medical industry. That was one message from a panel sponsored by Locals 34 and 35 of Unite Here, the union representing clerical, technical, service, and maintenance workers at Yale University.

The other message, brought from a successful struggle at another hospital, and from militant audience members, is that organizing, unity and solidarity is a winning strategy. To set the stage, several experts were asked to discuss trends in hospital consolidation.

March 19, 2014 Fast food workers protest wage theft

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Elected officials, clergy, community, and union members joined in a spirited protest outside the McDonalds in this city’s Fair Haven neighborhood Mar. 18.

Just days after the filing of class-action lawsuits in three states claiming that McDonald’s is deliberately and systematically stealing employees’ pay, workers here and in Hartford, Conn. joined people in 40 other cities nationwide to demand that the burger giant stop stealing wages.

The lawsuits contend that employees at McDonald’s have been forced to work off the clock through breaks, slashing hours off their time sheets and dollars off their paychecks – in many cases pushing wages below the $7.25 hourly federal minimum.

Oct 17, 2013 Shutdown deal the cloud around the silver lining

The agreement to end the shutdown and suspend the debt ceiling is a political victory for President Obama and a defeat for the tea party. It is also a victory for the working class, which bore the brunt of the shutdown, and would have been hardest hit by hitting the debt ceiling. But as Robert Reich says, “The war isn’t over. It’s only a cease-fire.” And this is clearly a class war, with the 1 percent still on the offensive against the rest of us.

Oct 3, 2013 Government shutdown a corporate lockout of the people

The government shutdown is a corporate lockout of the American people.

In the private sector, if the company and its union have not reached agreement when the contract expires, common practice is to extend the old contract while negotiations continue. But what if the company is determined to increase profits by busting the union, gutting the workers’ health benefits, raiding the pension plan and eliminating workers’ rights on the job? They resort to a lockout – they shut the company’s doors, and prevent the workers from doing their jobs or getting paid.

That’s exactly what the Republicans, led by the tea party caucus, have done – not only to 800,000 government workers, but to the American people.

March 22, 2013 Chained CPI equals benefit cuts for retirees, veterans

The billionaire-funded campaign against Social Security has gone into high gear. The cuts would be disguised as a technical fix in the way cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are calculated. The new formula, called chained CPI, would apply to all programs that are adjusted for inflation, including veterans’ benefits.

Feb 27, 2013 The congressional crisis calendar countdown

Exactly eighty years ago, the Roosevelt administration began enacting the New Deal, a program that put millions to work, literally saved millions of lives and families, and built roads, power lines, national parks, and public buildings that laid the foundation for decades of economic progress. We need a 21st century New Deal to meet today’s challenges for advanced transportation, internet, energy and education. A 21st century New Deal will provide jobs for millions and improve the economic security of all American workers; it will again provide the material foundation for future prosperity.

Oct 8, 2012 Gas prices and presidential politics

The price of gas is not set by the President of the United States. It is mainly set by global supply and demand for oil. Increased demand from fast-growing economies in Asia and Latin America over the last decade contributed to the upward trend in prices. But limiting supply — especially through war and the threat of war — is the main factor in the wild price swings of the past decade.

Sept 19, 2012 Connecticut GOP hopeful a threat to kids

Our kids can’t vote on Nov. 6. But we can.

In Connecticut, the budget cuts that Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney and Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon support are already hurting the children, causing a shortfall of funds for public education. In New Haven 30 paraprofessional jobs are unfilled, and half the K-2 classrooms lack full staff.

July 12, 2012 Book Review Woody, Cisco and Me

July 14th is the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie. This seems a good time to review a remarkable book that covers one of the least-discussed periods of Woody’s life. In the process, it illuminates Guthrie’s courage, character and humanity. And, it’s a great read!

Oct 18, 2011 Online petition shows wide support for jobs bill (with video)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Jobs and Unemployed Committee of the New Haven Peoples Center created a simple petition, which was posted online by a local MoveOn activist: “We urge Senator Lieberman to pass President Obama’s American Jobs Act and additional legislation to extend benefits for the unemployed, provide aid to cities and states to reverse layoffs, and create jobs to rebuild infrastructure and improve social services, targeted to communities most in need.”

The 1,500 petition signatures were presented at a spirited rally in Hartford by 25 MoveOn supporters on October 13. An aide from the Senator’s office confirmed that Lieberman had supported cloture (to allow the jobs bill to be voted on) but would vote against the bill itself in its present form. One speaker at the rally accused the Senator of putting millionaires and future deficits ahead of Connecticut’s 160,000 unemployed — a fourfold increase in the last ten years.

July 29, 2011 US Commerce Department - the economy sucks

You don’t have to have a Nobel Prize to know what’s going on. Knocking on doors for a local election campaign this week, a woman in a working-class neighborhood came to the door, saying, “I’ve just been watching TV about the debt ceiling. Nothing is going to be solved until we have jobs, jobs, jobs.” Polls show the overwhelming majority of Americans agree.

July 1, 2011 Attention lawmakers Connecticut is not broke

Right-wing think tanks, media and Republicans in the state legislature want to create disunity so they can cut workers’ collective bargaining rights. Now is the time for all working people to raise their voices and tell the governor and legislature to do what is good for all of Connecticut – tax the super rich.

May 17, 2011 Unemployment insurance under attack

When the Great Depression began in 1929, there was no unemployment insurance, and millions of working class families suffered and even died. But jobless workers fought back – they organized, marched, and voted. They won unemployment insurance, large-scale federal jobs programs, and union rights, and laid the basis for three decades of rising living standards. The same formula – unite, organize, fight back in the streets and at the ballot box – can win today.

April 11, 2011 The government hostage crisis

What to do in a hostage crisis? Sometimes it seems there are no good choices. Giving in to the demands may save the hostage’s life for now, but it encourages the terrorist to try again.

In December, millions of long-term jobless were held hostage by the Republicans. The extended benefits program for those unemployed more than six months was about to expire, and Republicans were blocking its renewal. Their price for allowing a 1-year renewal of the extended unemployment insurance program, was to a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2%. The president and Congressional Democrats agreed to pay.

April 7, 2011 Speedup comes to the ivy league

Colleges and universities also reflect the response of business to the economic crisis, using it as an opportunity to “restructure.” In New Haven, Conn., in the ivy-covered buildings of Yale University, “They aren’t replacing workers who retire or leave,” said one staff member, “and they aren’t cutting back on the work.”

Feb 16, 2011 Coalition offers better choices to fix state budget

Corporate forces like the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and the Republican leadership are demanding spending cuts, and resisting any efforts to make corporations pay their share. The Better Choices proposal represents the most progressive option on the table, and is by far the best deal, not only for state workers, but also for all low- and moderate-income families in Connecticut. This reflects the organizations that make up the coalition, which include many of the state’s major unions, community organizations, and advocacy groups. The ability of these organizations to mobilize their memberships in support of the progressive alternative can be a decisive factor in determining the outcome.

June 28, 2010 America speaks hijacking democracy

When confronted with the question, should the government concentrate on solving immediate problems or long-term problems, my group all agreed that it is a false question; that solving immediate problems like creating jobs in education, clean energy, rebuilding infrastructure is essential to solving long-term problems. But this was not an option we were allowed to vote on.

June 4, 2020 Behind the employment headlines

Most news stories in today’s business reports will headline the 431,000 growth in payroll employment during May – the biggest increase in years. That would be great news, except for one little problem. All except 20,000 of those jobs were temporary workers hired for the Census.

June 2, 2010 Hartford workers win back pay

Ten years after being locked out by their employer, union workers at Avery Heights Nursing Home began receiving checks totaling $2.55 million in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) settlement. The case has important implications for workers everywhere.

March 15, 2010 Double dip danger

Spending a trillion dollars a year for several years would be the most effective response to overcoming the economic crisis, putting people to work at useful jobs, and meeting the county’s social, physical and environmental needs.

Feb 25, 2010 Snow job

It is called a jobs bill, but it is really a snow job. What the Senate passed Monday may have been a victory for bipartisanship, but it was a slap in the face of the 25 million Americans who need jobs.

Jan 22, 2010 Supreme Court goes for one dollar one vote

The Supreme Court, in its Jan. 21 decision, replaced the principle of “one person, one vote” with “one dollar, one vote” by allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts to support or oppose political candidates. Let’s look at some numbers.

Jan 14, 2010 Federal aid needed to save jobs and vital services

School nurses, social workers, wages and hours inspectors, bus and subway operators — all are being laid off, as the recession-driven demand for their services grows. All these services are provided by state and local governments. And those governments are broke.

Sept 13, 2009 Health care fight heats up in West Hartford

Health care supporters far outnumbered an all-white group of about 150 opponents, who carried signs attacking Obama, expressed opposition to “government run” programs while ironically demanding “hands off Medicare,” and in some cases shouted racist insults at health care supporters.

Oct 7, 2008 The crisis of family debt

There is broad consensus among labor unions and progressive organizations, economists and politicians that we need a bottom-up solution to the economic crisis. That is, the priority should be fixing Main Street, not Wall Street.

Sept 30, 2008 The financial crisis and the 2008 elections

Despite superficial populist rhetoric, McCain has one message: end all government regulation; turn everything over to the insurance and finance industries and the military-industrial complex.

Nov 30, 2007 Home foreclosures are now at 2 million per year - what you can do to save homes

Home foreclosures will remain at the rate of 2 million per year well into 2008. Before the crisis is over, 3 million families — homeowners and renters — may have been kicked out of their homes, often losing everything in the process.

August 30, 2007 A look behind the housing crisis

Applying Marx analysis to the U.S. economy since the recession of 2001, there has been steadily increasing production. Houses been built at a record pace, along with an increase in the production of most goods and services. At the same time, real wages for most workers have stagnated or declined. Manufacturing employment has fallen even while production is increasing. So there is a big imbalance between the amount produced, which is increasing, and the ability of working people to purchase what they need, which hasn’t kept up.

April 29, 2006 The economic cost of the Iraq war

President Bush proposes to cut $1.4 million from the program for early detection and screening of breast and cervical cancer, denying services to 4,000 women. The Iraq war costs $1.4 million every 7 minutes, 22 seconds.

March 16, 2007 St Patrick's Day and the war in Iraq

With the Army unable to meet its staffing targets, and units on their third and fourth rotations in Iraq, recruiters are trolling shopping malls in working class communities, targeting youth with promises of big sign-up bonuses and other benefits. Enlistment rates are high among immigrant families, and in urban and rural communities where other job opportunities are few.

This is not the first time an imperial power has recruited oppressed youth, who are denied opportunity at home, to fight and die to maintain world domination. On St. Patrick’s Day, when Irish history and culture are celebrated, we remember that the Irish people faced and resisted similar problems

Feb 13, 2007 Yale hospital poster child for union busting

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is 650 miles from the notorious anti-worker Smithfield Foods livestock processing factory in Tar Heel, N.C. On Smithfield’s killing floors and in New Haven’s healing wards, the workers have something in common. Their employers use illegal, anti-democratic union-busting tactics to deny a voice on the job.

In December 2006, the YNHH administration outraged workers, elected officials, clergy, the media and the entire community when they defied a conduct agreement and undermined a union election they were certain to lose. The hospital became the new poster child for why the Employee Free Choice Act (HR 800) is a top priority in the 110th Congress.

Jan 12, 2007 The second 100 hours

During the election campaign, the Democrats pledged to address some of the most urgent needs of working families in the first 100 hours of the new Congress. The measures include raising the minimum wage, improving the Medicare drug benefit, cutting the cost of student loans and repealing multibillion-dollar subsidies for Big Oil.

The “first 100 hours” measures are only a down payment on what is both necessary and possible. For working people, the second 100 hours, and all the hours after that, must focus on the most urgent issues, including universal health care (HR 676), the Employee Free Choice Act to allow workers to organize unions, and ending the war in Iraq.

Sept 8, 2006 Latest jobs report good for Wall St bad for workers

For the last five months, job creation has failed to keep up with demand. But you’d never know that from most news stories.

June 16, 2006 Wall Street's enforcer

Bush has nominated Henry Paulson to be his third treasury secretary. His job will be to make sure that Washington toes Wall Street’s line.

March 3, 2006 / Wal-Mart and Henry Ford

Wal-Mart is known for the huge profits it has accumulated for the Walton family and its Wall Street backers. It is also known for low pay and savage opposition to workers’ rights.

Dec 2, 2005 Greenspan Bernanke and the Fed

The federal deficit is becoming a central point of political struggle. Republicans in Congress are trying to enact a series of cuts in vital programs while extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. In the midst of this struggle, President Bush has been given the opportunity to make an important appointment. Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (the Fed) since 1987, is stepping down in January, and Bush has nominated Ben Bernanke to replace him

Sept 23, 2005 Katrina oil companies are the real looters

Following Katrina’s devastation, the president could crack down on the real looters by sending the National Guard to Houston and Irving, Texas, and San Ramon, Calif., the headquarters of ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and ChevronTexaco.

In the wake of the hurricane, the retail price of gas shot up by as much as a dollar a gallon. A week later, gas was still up by 46 cents, and the next week by 34 cents. Because of the shortage of refining capacity, it is unlikely to fall to pre-hurricane levels any time soon.

Sept 2, 2005 The battle to defend Social Security

Saving Social Security from privatization will be a major theme at Labor Day celebrations around the country, as members of Congress prepare to head back to Washington. Working people are determined to put Congress on notice that any proposal that undermines or privatizes Social Security is not acceptable and must be voted down. As was done in the 1930s to win Social Security and other social legislation, a massive outpouring can achieve not only protection of Social Security, but expansion of it as well.

Sept 2, 2005 Missing five million workers are missing and almost nobody has noticed

When the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that July’s unemployment rate was only 5 percent, President Bush interrupted his five-week vacation to take credit for a strong economy. But a report released earlier this summer strikes a jarring note.

July 22, 2005 Aging population no cause for crisis

“The worldwide rise in house prices is the biggest bubble in history. Prepare for the economic pain when it pops.” That’s the subhead in a special report in The Economist, a leading conservative business journal. From Business Week to The New York Times to, most likely, your hometown newspaper, articles about the housing bubble are becoming common.

July 15, 2005 The housing bubble

“The worldwide rise in house prices is the biggest bubble in history. Prepare for the economic pain when it pops.” That’s the subhead in a special report in The Economist, a leading conservative business journal. From Business Week to The New York Times to, most likely, your hometown newspaper, articles about the housing bubble are becoming common.

May 20, 2005 Social Security and the NY Times

Young people are not threatened by a generation war waged by older workers. Young and old, workers are threatened by a class war, waged by the corporate class and their political lackeys. By pitting the interests of children and young workers against older and retired workers, Kristof is playing into Bush’s hands

May 13, 2005 Bush's working retirement work till you drop

April 8, 2005 Jobs wages and the Goldilocks economy

In the business pages of newspapers last month, there was cautious talk of a Goldilocks economy: ‘…neither too hot nor too cold, but just right for steady growth.’

Feb 18, 2005 Scrap the cap

Several readers have asked, “How much money could we raise if we get rid of the cap on payroll taxes, and make the rich pay their fair share? Would it be enough to save Social Security?”

Feb 11, 2005 African Americans and Social Security

President Bush has joined those who are trying to blame Social Security for injustices rooted in the institutional racism that pervades the country. The administration’s proposals would result in lower benefits for everyone. But African Americans would be hurt especially hard, because the progressive benefit structure of Social Security would be absent from private accounts.

Dec 17, 2004 Who will pay for the falling dollar

The declining dollar is featured on business and editorial pages from The New York Times to local newspapers, and it has even made it onto television’s “The Daily Show.” Four years ago it cost 90 cents to buy a Euro, the currency of the European Union, and a Volkswagen that sold for 20,000 Euros in Germany cost $18,000 here. A weak dollar means that each Euro now costs $1.35, and the same Volkswagen, $27,000.

Sept 12, 2004 Bush plan for Social Security divide and profit

Social Security does not need strengthening — it needs protecting. Without any changes, the Social Security trust fund will be able to pay full benefits for the next 40 years. With relatively minor adjustments, it can continue indefinitely. There are few government programs — or corporations, for that matter — that can be as confident. But Social Security does need protecting from Wall Street vultures and their White House and congressional agents.

Oct 15, 2004 Bushonomics 39 million locked in poverty

One in four working families in the U.S. “earn wages so low they have difficulty surviving financially,” charged a report released Oct. 12 by three nonpartisan foundations.

Aug 27, 2004 Prosperity just around the corner?

“The economy is strong, and getting stronger,” says President Bush, but an AP poll reports that only 10 percent of households making less than $50,000 a year think their economic situation is strong. Jobs are still hard to come by, real wages are falling, health care costs more and covers less, and airline workers are only the latest group to see their pensions disappear.

Aug 13, 2004 Minimum wage outrage

The federal minimum legal wage is $5.15 per hour. That stinks! A full-time, minimum wage worker receives only $10,300 per year before taxes. By the end of this year, the value of the minimum wage will be close to its lowest level in 50 years. No wonder more than three-quarters of Americans believe increasing the minimum wage is an important priority.

July 16, 2004 The economy theirs and ours

Two-thirds of the jobs created in the past year have gone to workers 55 and over. This squares with other evidence that older Americans are forced back to work by failing pension funds, skyrocketing medical costs, increased family responsibilities, and growing debt. Meanwhile, high school and even college graduates are lucky to find any job at all, let alone one with decent pay, benefits and a future.

June 11, 2004 Job report masks signs of trouble

While the Associated Press reports on “a job market steadily gaining steam ahead of November’s presidential election,” President Bush still has plenty to worry about from working-class voters concerned with the economy.

May 14, 2004 Jobs mission accomplished

While the Associated Press reports on “a job market steadily gaining steam ahead of November’s presidential election,” President Bush still has plenty to worry about from working-class voters concerned with the economy.

May 14, 2004 Employers not paying overtime

The implementation date for the new regulation denying overtime pay to millions of workers was pushed back to August, and then on May 4 the Senate voted 52-47 to approve the Harkin amendment, blocking the new rules. But they will still go into effect, unless the House also approves the Harkin amendment, and the president signs the bill.

April 30, 2004 Getting paid for overtime

After 30 years, I still remember my rage and frustration. I was cleaning up after a hot, hard eight-hour shift at Oregon Steel, when the foreman came into the locker room. “Put your work clothes back on and go back to work,” he told me. “We need another man on number two furnace.” I had no choice, if I wanted to keep my job.

Today, it is not only industrial workers. Increasingly, from the executive suites to the custodial crew, we are on call 24/7/365. The corporate machine comes first, our families a distant second. And many are not even getting paid for the extra time on the job!

April 16, 2004 The maestro of fraud

Bob Woodward called his biography of Alan Greenspan “Maestro” because the Federal Reserve chief is “a conductor, exquisitely attuned to every instrument in the political and economic orchestra,” according to the amazon.com review. But after Greenspan testified before Congress Feb. 25, proposing to cut Social Security benefits, Paul Krugman in the New York Times called him the “Maestro of Chutzpah.” (Chutzpah is Yiddish for “a lot of nerve.”)

I would be more blunt. Alan Greenspan is the maestro of fraud. Here’s why.

Feb 27, 2004 Wall Street loves Bush budget

Defeating Bush and his friends in Congress is the first step to a responsible federal budget. But we need more than that – a pro-worker, pro-people budget that will tax the rich, cut the military budget, and restore and expand spending to meet basic needs and get America working again. It will take a lot of organized strength from below to oppose the power Wall Street has at the top!

Feb 8, 2004 Whose recovery

Is there a recovery? And if so, for whom?

Not for millions of working-class Americans.

Jan 9, 2004 The Grinch cuts off the unemployed

The Bush administration joined the Republican congressional leadership in their annual holiday raspberry for the unemployed. They all went home in December, allowing the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program to expire. Workers whose regular six months of unemployment benefits ran out after Dec. 21 are out of luck. The same thing happened last year, but public outrage was so great that when Congress met last January, it was forced to extend TEUC.

Nov 27, 2003 Decent paying jobs still elusive

Despite Bush administration claims that there’s an economic recovery underway, the latest employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offer a grim picture for several key categories of workers.

Nov 13, 2003 Bush administration twists truth on jobs

The economy is a disaster for working people, and is unlikely to improve in the next year. Bush can remain president only by wiggling out of the major responsibility his administration bears for the hardships we all face. But he is a slippery fellow. To beat Bush, it will take clearly explaining the issues, solid organizing at all levels, and confidence that working class families in every state can recognize where their interests lie

Oct 31, 2003 Alabama setback

Almost every state faces a severe financial crunch, with taxes and spending cuts dominating the news. In September, Alabama had a chance to vote on a real solution to its budget crisis. The opportunity was lost, shot down by corporate money and right-wing ideology.

Sept 19, 2003 Yale pensions a national issue

Retirement into poverty, or retirement with dignity? With one quarter of Yale’s employees likely to retire in the course of the next contract, this critical issue for workers everywhere has become pivotal in the strike against Yale University and its teaching hospital.

From sit-ins to hunger strikes at Yale offices, retirees have electrified the strikers and dramatized the issues for the whole community.

Aug 29, 2003 Yale strikers draw national support

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – As picket lines went up at Yale University and its affiliated hospital Aug. 27, striking workers were electrified by the news that eight union retirees had occupied the university’s investment offices. Denied food, water and bathroom facilities for five hours by Yale police, the retirees – all in their seventies – held their ground, protesting poverty-level pensions. They were joined overnight by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees President John Wilhelm, with union members standing vigil outside.

Aug 15, 2003 The office of tax propaganda

The honesty-impaired Bush administration does not limit its deception to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. When it comes to taxes, the spin starts when they call their program the “Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003.” If this legislation was breakfast cereal, the Consumer Protection Agency would be forced to prosecute the Bush administration for misleading packaging and lying about the ingredients. It would be more accurate to call it the “Economic Destruction and Millionaire Welfare Act.”

June 20, 2003 Too much government spending?

The Bush administration and Republican Congress want to strangle government spending. One purpose of the tax cuts (in addition to giving themselves and their wealthy supporters another break) is to starve the government and force further spending reductions. Grover Norquist, a powerful, right-wing Washington insider, once said, “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”

June 6, 2003 Local health care struggles tied to 2004 elections

The fight for affordable health care and the struggle of health care workers for decent wages and union representation come together at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH).

When a top-ranked hospital is exposed as engaging in aggressive debt collections and home foreclosures, it spotlights both the crisis in coverage and the corporatization of medicine. At the same hospital, the drive by 1,800 workers to join the union exemplifies the problems of health care workers who at YNHH, as at many hospitals, form one of the largest concentrations of workers in the area.

May 18, 2003 No jobs for youth

It is widely known that official unemployment figures are far too low. Millions of jobless workers are “counted out” of the labor market – they just don’t exist, as far as the statistics are concerned.

This form of under-counting is particularly bad for youth 16-19 years old. But it is possible to estimate the actual unemployment rate and compare it to the “official” rate.

May 7, 2003 Yale workers struggle continues

As workers at Yale University continue their quest for union recognition and fair contracts, support for their cause continues to grow.

April 10, 2003 Tax attacks

April 15, the deadline for filing federal income tax returns, has arrived again. Where do your income tax dollars go? According to the National Priorities Project, the largest share – 26 cents of every dollar – went to military and defense spending in 2002. Since then, the military budget has increased, and Congress is in the process of approving the first;80 billion for the Iraq war.

March 27, 2003 The cloud on Bush's horizon

George W. Bush’s campaign of shock and awe is aimed at the entire world, not only at the cities of Iraq. But as he moves toward the title of Supreme Overlord of the Known Universe, Bush is standing on a shaky foundation.

That shaky foundation is the U.S. dollar.

March 14, 2003 Snapshots from the picket line

NEW HAVEN – Nearly 5,000 workers are back on the job and negotiations have resumed at Yale University after a history-making five-day strike. It was the eighth in 35 years, and was remarkable in the unity amongst dishwashers, graduate student teachers, secretaries and lab technicians, represented by three Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) locals and Service Employees International Union (SEIU)/1199. They stood up against a corporate giant that trains the nation’s ruling elite.

Oct 18, 2002 Not getting by in America

The bottom line – you can’t get by on $5.15 an hour. Millions of Americans fall under that bottom line, and they aren’t getting by.

In 1998, author Barbara Ehrenreich asked, “How were the four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform going to make it on $5.15 an hour?” Taking low-wage jobs herself, Ehrenreich reported her experiences in Nickel and Dimed – On (Not) Getting By in America.