Memo for the G20
As you, the leaders of the G20, the world's "wealthy" nations, gather in Pittsburgh, some of you still debate whether to call the world economic crisis a "recession" or a "depression," and, whatever it is, whether it is ending.
Morality is the key issue in the health reform battle
"Should a homeless woman or a garbage man receive the same level of health care as a corporate CEO?"
Forget about "socialized medicine." Forget about "government takeover." Forget about "death panels." This is the one big question health care reform advocates need to address before we can hope to see major change in this country.
I visit Wall Street and get Obama’s speech
Obama's main points:
1. The rescue of the financial system was necessary.
I agree with him. Wall Street and Main Street are closely linked. Now, the government's public stake in some huge bailed out banks gives it the right and responsibility to — at the minimum — curb excessive risk, especially in non-productive investment.
UE and the Cold War
The struggles and the conditions of electrical workers through the Cold War years of the late 1940s and the 1950a are examined in depth in “Generation of Resistance” by John Bennett (Ben) Sears.
Union was in her soul
Crystal Lee Sutton, the North Carolina textile worker played by Sally Fields in the 1975 movie "Norma Rae," has died of cancer. Many have pointed to her death as another tragic example of the impact of profit-driven health insurance – which in this case delayed payment so long that the treatment she needed was ineffective.
Tale of two worlds
At the AFL-CIO labor convention, teabaggers, birthers and other haters seem a world away. Firefighters, ironworkers, teachers and office professionals all took the floor making the case for a labor movement fully engaged on fighting for racial and gender diversity within the labor movement's ranks and leadership.
LETTERS, September 19, 2009
Tucson for EFCA
Tucson, Arizona, became the latest city to endorse passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Tucson’s Republican Mayor, and the all Democratic city council voted unanimously to pass a resolution extolling the proposed legislation which will make organizing unions fairer and simpler for U.S. workers. The resolution urges Arizona’s congressional delegation to support the Bill. The action was taken at the initiative of the Tucson Chapters of the United Steelworkers Association and Jobs with Justice.
Joe Bernick
Via e-mail
Crystal Lee Sutton: Thunder in North Carolina
In the 1960s and early 1970s, textile workers in North Carolina inspired labor and workers everywhere with their successful assault on the Southern, non-union fortress, built by JP Stevens. In 1967, the Steven’s sweatshop empire included 44,000 workers in 85 plants, mostly in the Carolinas. The critical union victory came when 3,000 textile workers at Stevens’ flagship Roanoke Rapids mills won union recognition in 1974.
The Baader Meinhof Complex: a movie review
At every political gathering, it seems, there are those who decide to go off in some strange direction.
Money can’t defeat outrage against Bloomberg
The incumbent mayor of New York City, opposed by Democrat Bill Thompson in the upcoming mayoralty election, is multi billionaire business tycoon Bloomberg. The recent endorsements of Bill Thompson by two powerful New York City unions, TWU Local 100 and DC37 of AFSCME, have given a big boost to the Bill Thompson campaign just as pools show more and more New York voters swinging towards Thompson.
