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        Weeks of protests across Wisconsin let unionbusting legislators know that workers won’t stand for ideologically motivated attacks on their rights. And this week’s Supreme Court race took that message from Madison to the polls. Read more » Guest Post by Author and Labor Scholar Brigid O’Farrell. When my phone rang in Moss Beach, California, I was surprised to find a young girl calling from a small town in Ohio, not far from Columbus. She and her friends in eighth grade were writing a play about Eleanor Roosevelt for a school project. She saw my book on the internet, She Was One of Us: Eleanor Roosevelt and the American Worker. They wanted their drama to address the workers in Ohio and Wisconsin. “Eleanor Roosevelt went into a coal mine, didn’t she?” the girl asked. “Do you think she would be supporting the workers today?” Read more » It’s opening day at Florida’s Tropicana Field – meaning ice cold beer, fly balls, and family fun are just around the corner for baseball lovers across the state. But with the surge of attacks on public employees fresh in the air, today’s season opener is turning out to be a lot more than just another day in the park for Florida fans. Read more » The recent string of attacks on middle class workers has made it easier than ever to point the finger at the politicians spearheading anti-worker legislation across the country— legislators like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Wall Street-elected politicians have created the recent wave of anti-worker attacks we see sweeping the nation. But weeks of worker protests across the country have proven that local communities-those who care about the middle class-have a voice and are going to use it. Last week, we let you know that Gov. Scott Walker wasn’t letting up on his push to scapegoat public workers for Wisconsin’s budget deficit. His threats to cut employee pay, reduce health and retirement benefits, and virtually eliminate workers’ right to bargain collectively mobilized public employees and workers’ rights supporters across the country. The ongoing protest in Madison, now in its eighth day, is proof that working families won’t stand for these brazen attacks on public employees and their unions—even when faced with the threat of layoffs. In December 2010, we warned that Scott Walker believed he could solve Wisconsin’s budget issues by taking away a voice on the job from working women and men. Four months into office, Gov. Walker is following through on his promise to attack Wisconsin’s working families. As the U.S. continues to recover from the Great Recession, Americans expect their political leaders to focus on restarting the economy and bringing back good jobs. Unfortunately, not all politicians are getting the message. Governors and state legislatures across the country are ruthlessly targeting middle class, public employees, making them the scapegoat for Wall Street’s misdeeds. Florida’s governor wants to force employees to pay more into their pensions while cutting taxes on private business. Read more » For the millions of Americans that Wall Street’s recklessness sent to the unemployment line, time is running out. Thanks to right-wing obstructionism in Congress, emergency jobless benefits have already started to lapse—and will leave 2 million unemployed workers without a lifeline by the New Year. Another 4 million will be left out in the cold by the end of February, through no fault of their own. Still not convinced that extending unemployment benefits is the right thing to do? Read more » |
Posts Tagged ‘legislation’
The California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (AB 889), introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), offers the almost 200,000 domestic workers in California basic labor rights from which they have been excluded for decades. If signed into law, California will become only the second state in the country, after New York, to extend labor protections to domestic workers – the caregivers, housekeepers, and babysitters providing vital services to families across California. Union Shop
