Full Employment Now!

December 10 is International Human Rights Day. We demand our right to a Living Wage Job!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 15:15:00 +0000

Fast food workers, healthcare workers and their supporters shout slogans at a rally and march to demand an increase of the minimum wage in Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 4, 2014. Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/fast-food-workers-strike-again

"…Where, after all, do universal rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he or she lives in; the school or college he or she attends; the factory, the farm or office where he or she works.

Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world…"

--Eleanor Roosevelt (1968) commenting on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

"...It is the purpose of the Humphrey Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act (HR 1000) to expedite progress to fulfill the right to useful work at living wages for all persons seeking employment, as promptly as possible and at the earliest practicable date by establishing a Full Employment Trust Fund to fund and operate a national program of public service employment and to provide additional labor market opportunities to complement those offered by the existing private, public, and nonprofit sectors."

-- HR 1000 (Full Text), introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) with 57 co-sponsors

December 10 is International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the day that the Universal Declaration was adopted in 1948. This year’s slogan, Human Rights 365, encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values.

For more info, visit: http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/ and

www.PutAmericaToWork.net

Can We Earn a Living on a Living Planet?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 04:17:00 +0000

Cross posted from the American Prospect

This July 30, 2010, photo shows a worker walking through a field of solar panels at Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, Pa. When Pocono Raceway flipped the switch on its 25-acre solar farm last week for the Pennsylvania 500, a NASCAR track became the world's largest solar-powered sports facility and thrusted the racing series into a leading role among U.S. sports in promoting alternative energy.

Can We Earn a Living on a Living Planet?
The Need for Jobs, and the Ecological Limits to Growth
by Chuck Collins, 10/13/14

It has been a tough couple of years in the effort to unite labor, community, and environmental groups, an alliance that has always been strained.

The extractive energy sector—coal, gas, oil—has historically had strong union representation and well-paying jobs. Tensions rose in 2011 after the Sierra Club escalated their campaign to close coal plants and 350.org, the climate protection group led by activist Bill McKibben, called for a halt to the Keystone XL Pipeline project. Even Obama’s relatively mild order this past June on reducing pollution from power plants was opposed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Mineworkers.

“Where is the transition plan for workers? Why isn’t this part of your demands?”

At a February 2013 meeting of labor and environmental activists, Damon Silvers, the AFL-CIO’s director of policy and special counsel, yelled and pounded the table, “Where is the transition plan for workers? Why isn’t this part of your demands?”
Divisions will increase in the coming years, as two competing urgencies collide. Labor and community justice organizations will demand jobs, economic growth, and reductions in inequality. And environmental activists will increase pressure to curtail fossil fuel production in the face of climate disruptions. Both the politics and the policies of these goals seem to diverge. But must they?

“Pitting jobs versus the environment is a false choice,” says Joe Uehlein, a longtime trade unionist, now board president of the Labor Network for Sustainability, which builds alliances between environmental and labor sectors. “We need to figure out how to make a living on a living planet.”

Read rest of article

Low wages keep restaurant workers in cycle of poverty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 03:09:00 +0000

Cross-posted from the Ashville Citizen-Times

Low wages keep restaurant workers in cycle of poverty
Mackensy Lunsford November 22, 2014

"...The [restaurant] industry as a whole has recorded five straight years of economic growth, but “quick-service” restaurants, which include fast-food eateries, are experiencing more robust growth with sales this year at 4.4 percent over last.

At the same time, nearly 17 percent of the country’s 10 million restaurant workers live below the poverty line, with 40 percent living below twice the poverty line, commonly used as a measure of what it takes for a family to make ends meet without assistance.

That’s more than twice the rate of workers outside of the restaurant industry."

Read rest of article

Most unemployed don't get benefits

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:37:00 +0000

Cross posted from Grand Haven Tribune

Even though the U.S. job market is gaining strength, there are still a lot of unemployed Americans. Yet only a fraction of them are receiving financial aid from the government.

AP WIRE, WASHINGTON, NOV 23, 2014

Fewer than 25 percent of those out of work are signed up for weekly unemployment benefits, a near-record low since the government began tracking this data in 1987. That's a sharp turnaround from just after the recession, when as many as three-quarters of those out of work received help, a record high.

The drop counters a common assumption that most of those out of work receive unemployment benefits. It is partly a sign of an improving job market: Layoffs have plummeted and Americans seem more confident in their prospects for finding a job. But the drop also reflects the fact that state and federal benefit programs have been downsized from where they were just a few years ago.

Unemployment benefits had been extended nationwide for as long as 99 weeks in 2009.

"We cut back on the safety net really sharply when the labor market is still damaged," said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank.

In October, an average of 2.1 million people received benefits each week, according to calculations by the EPI. That is equal to just 23.3 percent of the nearly 9 million who were out of work, and is just above September's 23.2 percent, the all-time low.

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1 in 7 Young Adults Neither Working Nor in School

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 01:57:00 +0000

Cross posted from Salon

Millennials are hopeless, and it’s all our fault

Jobs are vanishing for young Americans, thanks to a narcissistic national politics that's disconnected from reality

ROBERT HENNELLY - MONDAY, AUG 5, 2013\

"...[H]ere in the U.S. there are signs of a growing class of young people on their way to being sidelined. This wound appears self-inflicted by a narcissistic national politics totally disconnected from the current social conditions of people outside the Beltway.

According to the Social Science Research Council’s report, “A Measure of America Study,” an “astonishing one in seven Americans ages 16 to 24 is neither working nor in school — 5.8 million young people in all.” The authors rightly point out that such idleness has long-erm impacts for our nation. As their plugged-in peers ascend the ladder of success with that first job, these “disconnected youth find themselves adrift at society’s margins unmoored from the structures that confer knowledge, skills, identity and purpose.”

How ironic. Even as we fret most furiously about the lack of a sufficient workforce to carry us baby boomers into our “golden years,” we fail to see that we are squandering the generation we are counting on to carry the load.

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More than a Third of U.S. Workers are Freelancers Now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 02:39:00 +0000

Cross-posted from Forbes

More Than A Third Of U.S. Workers Are Freelancers Now, But Is That Good For Them?

By Susan Adams
9/05/2014

"... [T]he progressive non-profit group National Employment Law Project released a report this week, Temped Out: How The Domestic Outsourcing of Blue-Collar Jobs Harms America’s Workers, that explores the dark side of contingent work. It focuses on the 12 million people who got jobs through staffing agencies last year.

Though NELP’s focus is on blue collar workers and it tallies its numbers differently from the Freelancers Union, Rebecca Smith, the report’s co-author, says the report’s findings extend to many of the jobs highlighted by the Freelancers Union.

The focus of NELP’s study is the spread of temporary work to areas of the economy like manufacturing and warehousing, where workers were traditionally full-time and often unionized, with full benefits and good wages. Now that those workers are temporary, employers are paying median wages that are 22% lower than in the overall economy, according to NELP’s research.

Says Smith, “Staffing agencies not only fail to provide livable wages, benefits or job security for their workers, but their influence in an industry can lower standards for all workers in that industry.” When a worker has an issue, it’s not clear whether the staffing agency or the top-line company is responsible for setting wages or controlling working conditions.

The NELP report highlights the conditions faced by several workers who got their jobs through staffing agencies, like David Fields, a 45-year-old father of four who worked for staffing agency LINC Logistics in a Walmart consolidation center in Hammond, IN, where he toiled outside in sub-zero temperatures on a warehouse loading dock during the Christmas rush.

“It’s dangerous to move heavy equipment when you can’t feel your hands and you’re walking on ice,” Fields told the NELP researchers. “But as temp workers, we were expendable, so we just kept on working.” Fields wound up organizing fellow workers and presenting a petition to LINC and Walmart, which put a turbine heater on the dock and granted workers warm-up breaks. The vast majority of workers who are employed through staffing firms are not as successful, says Smith.

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The Poorly Attended Hearing on One of the Economy's Toughest Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 02:27:00 +0000

C'mon Members of Congress. You can do better than this. Even if you can't do anything because of gridlock, can't you pound the podium and shout and stamp your feet? Is there any passion about unemployment and underemployment inside the Beltway?

The Poorly Attended Hearing on One of the Economy's Toughest Problems
Cross-posted from the National Journal by Niraj Chokshi, April 24, 2013

When the Joint Economic Committee's hearing on fixing the nation's long-term unemployment problem kicked off on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, only one lawmaker was in attendance: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Committee's vice chair who was holding the hearing.

It stands to reason that lawmakers who often decry the high jobless rate would want to be seen publicly trying to tackle the problem, right? Well, apparently not.

When a hearing to explore how to get the long-term unemployed back to work kicked off on Wednesday morning, only one lawmaker was in attendance. That was Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who was holding the hearing in her role as the vice chair of the Joint Economic Committee. The Joint Economic Commitee is one of a handful of committees whose members come from both parties and both houses of Congress. Klobuchar was eventually joined by three colleagues (in order of their appearance): Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, Maryland Rep. John Delaney and Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings. All four are Democrats.

Lawmaker schedules are often packed with votes, hearings, meetings, press conferences, the works. By 10:30 a.m., when the long-term unemployment hearing began, more than 25 hearings had already kicked off in the House and Senate. But elected officials also often try to show up at important hearings, even if only for a few minutes, for no other reason than to be seen. For a group that often bickers over how to solve the nation’s biggest economic problems, Wednesday’s hearing represented a perfect chance to do just that: be seen discussing how to tackle the intractable problem of long-term unemployment.

The long-term unemployed have it incredibly rough: their ranks have swelled in recent years, accounting for a larger share of the unemployed; the problem is compounded by eroding skills; and the psychological effects of unemployment can take a toll on them and their families. In a 2010 Pew survey, close to half of the people out of work six or months said being unemployed for so long had strained family relations, and more than 40 percent said they’d lost contact with close friends. Just being unemployed for a long period makes individuals less employable. It’s what Kevin Hassett, a former economic advisor to Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, called a “national emergency” at Wednesday’s hearing.

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Join sign-on campaign in support of HR 1000!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 01:46:00 +0000

Jobs for All Campaign

Sign-on Letter in Support of Rep. John Conyers’ Jobs Legislation (HR 1000)

Dear Friends,

US Representative John Conyers has reintroduced jobs legislation HR 1000. It is the most significant jobs creation bill in recent times. The “Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment & Training Act” is a comprehensive and innovative federal and local government job creation and training bill that would create millions of new jobs for the nation’s unemployed. It targets the long-term unemployed and poor communities that are being left behind. The bill will be funded by a financial transactions tax on stocks and bonds.

We are very exited by the legislation and its potential role in mobilizing a larger movement for jobs. Below is the sign-on letter in support of HR 1000, We are seeking organizational and individual endorsements. Our goal is to have as many local, state and national organizations as possible endorse the bill over the next several months. This effort is key in making job creation by the federal government a national priority. Please forward this e-mail to key contacts with a note of your support.

Let us know of any endorsements you are able to secure. Thanks.

For Jobs and Peace,

Logan Martinez

Outreach Coordinator

The National Jobs for All Coalition / Jobs for All Campaign

Email: loganmartinez2u [at] yahoo.com

Please click here H.R.1000 for the complete text, summary and cosponsors for the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act. 

http://www.njfac.org/ / http://www.jobscampaign.org / www.PutAmericaToWork.net

Jobs for All Campaign

Quality Jobs with a Living Wage and a Voice in the Workplace

Dear Member of Congress,

We are writing on behalf of the members of our organizations urging you to cosponsor and pass into law Representative John Conyers’ bill, H.R. 1000, the Humphrey Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act. This legislation would create a national public jobs program to complement job creation by the private sector. Ultimately, it would ensure full employment, so that every American seeking work would have a job.

We're facing a severe jobs crisis. The economy is consistently failing to create sufficient new jobs to sustain the struggling recovery. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate was 7.5% in April. While 12 million Americans are "officially" unemployed, millions of others have given up looking for work entirely. More than 17 million Americans are currently unemployed, and millions more remain underemployed. 4.6 million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, and more than 3 million have been out of work for at least a year.

Economists, as well as religious, civil society, political, and other leaders from across the political spectrum agree: Creating jobs is preferable to providing government assistance. Persistent joblessness devastates families, communities, and our economy, drives up our deficit, and weakens our nation. The Humphrey Hawkins Act would solve this crisis.

Philip Harvey, Professor of Law and Economics at the Rutgers School of Law, estimates The Humphrey Hawkins Act would provide resources to businesses, states and localities to directly create 3.1 to 6.2 million jobs, and 1 to 2 million additional jobs indirectly within two years. The National Full Employment and Training Trust Fund—supported by a modest levy on financial transactions—would finance creation of these new jobs.

New jobs would provide opportunity and security to millions of Americans who would also benefit from improved infrastructure including newer, safer, and better roads, dams, bridges, community facilities, schools, libraries, parks, and more. New hires would quickly begin work improving and repairing our dangerously distressed infrastructure, providing child and elder care, offering job training and other education. Communities could hire more police, first responders, teachers, and similar public servants.

We the undersigned strongly urge you to cosponsor H.R. 1000 and to work with your colleagues in Congress to pass this jobs-creating legislation into law as a top priority.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Endorsers [list in formation]

Coalition of Labor Union Women

President Tanaka Charles (AFSCME)

Memphis Workers' Center

Workers Interfaith Network

Alfredo Pena, Executive Director

Greater Charleston AFL-CIO Central Labor Council

Erin McKee, President

Dee R. Wernette, Ph.D.

Chicago Activist Researcher

Georgia Citizens' Coalition on Hunger

Carolyn Pittman, Executive Director

Pastor Robert E. Jones

College Hill Community Church

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Dayton, Ohio

Community Organizing Center

Columbus, OH

Mark D. Stansbery

 Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice

Arkansas Interfaith Alliance.

Rev. Steve Copley

 South Eastern Michigan Jobs With Justice

Jobs Committee, Kae Halonen

 Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

Miami, FL; Washington, DC; Los Angeles, CA

Detroit, MI; Albuquerque, NM; Oakland, CA;

New Orleans, LA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; &

Philadelphia, PA.

Britton Loftin, National Policy Coordinator

 Demos

Benjamin P. Peck , Senior Legislative and Policy Associate

 Chris Tilly

Professor, Department of Urban Planning, UCLA

 New York City Council Progressive Caucus

 Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition

Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Executive Director

 National Jobs for All Coalition

Trudy Goldberg, Chair

 Chicago Political Economy Group

Bill Barclay

 U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)

Michael Eisenscher, National Coordinator

 Frank Stricker, Emeritus Professor of History and Labor

Studies, California State University, Dominguez Hills,

 Organize! Ohio

Larry Bresler

 Green For All

Kimberly Freeman Brown, DC Office Chief

 Rimson Development Corp (Detroit)

James C Clark, CEO

 Association of UW Professionals (AFT Local 3535)

Bryan Kennedy, Ph.D. President, AFT-Wisconsin

 Boston Democratic Socialists of America

Mike Pattberg, Boston DSA Exec Board

 People's Empowerment Coalition of Ohio

Lynn Williams

 Coalition for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ)

Jesse Arms San Francisco, CA - Belleville, IL

 Advocacy and Education Committee

(Community Action Partnership) Dayton, OH

Carole L. Grimes, Chairwoman

 Miami Valley Full Employment Council

Tiki Kai-Krismano, Exec Board

 George Friday

North Carolina Activist

For more info on HR 1000, visit:
www.PutAmericaToWork.net

Conyers Forms Full Employment Caucus

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 02:07:00 +0000

Cross-posted from Detroit News

January 29, 2014 at 4:51 pm

Conyers forms Full Employment Caucus

Marisa Schultz
Detroit News Washington Bureau
24 Comments

Zoom

Rep. John Conyers (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Washington — Rep. John Conyers launched a new congressional caucus Wednesday aimed at cultivating ideas to put all Americans back to work.

The Full Employment Caucus was formed by the longtime Democratic leader with the idea jobs will solve the country’s poverty and crime problems, particularly in his hometown of Detroit.

“In African-American and Hispanic communities, unemployment is 30 percent or more,” Conyers said Wednesday, flanked by fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus who have joined Conyers in his effort. “... In our communities, we experience profound unemployment and, without a job, poverty is the only alternative.”

There are nearly 300 official caucuses in Congress that bring together lawmakers with similar interests or backgrounds. They range from political (Tea Party Caucus) to ethnic (Hispanic Caucus) and everything in between (Congressional Songwriter Caucus and the Bourbon Caucus).

Conyers, the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus and a leading liberal voice in Congress, said this caucus will meet regularly with economic experts and organize events in members’ districts to find the best solutions.

Fellow caucus member Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, noted President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday in which he pledged to move on economic initiatives even if Congress drags its feet. She argues the work of the caucus could formulate executive orders the president could sign without congressional approval.

“We will be answering the call of all of America because people need work and we’re not doing right by them by creating work,” Jackson-Lee said. “I believe this caucus will put us on the right path and we’ll give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign with pride and strength.”

Conyers, the top Democrat on House Judiciary Committee, has long championed legislation to fund jobs and employment programs, known as the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act.

His legislation would create two separate federal trust funds. The first would grant money to communities and states for job-creating activities and the other for training people without skills.

mschultz@detroitnews.com
(202) 662-8736

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140129/POLITICS03/301290102#ixzz2rwCqjaf9

Congressional Budget Deal Fails to Extend Aid for Long-Term Unemployed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 14:05:00 +0000

More than 2 million unemployed workers will lose federal jobless aid by early 2014, if Congress allows Federal Benefits to shut down at year's end

Source: National Employment Law Project

Despite efforts by Democrats, the recent budget deal struck by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan failed to include extension of benefits for long-term unemployed workers. See great issue brief from National Employment Law Project on the risk that Congress may cutoff aid to long-term unemployed workers:

"...In the wake of October’s harmful government shutdown, we now face another critical looming deadline – the shutdown of federal unemployment insurance for long-term unemployed workers at the end of December. As detailed below, with unemployment still unacceptably high, labor market conditions persistently weak and long-term unemployment remaining at crisis levels, Congress must act to avert a shutdown of federal jobless aid and swiftly renew the program for 2014.

If Congress fails to reauthorize the federally-funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program, more than two million unemployed job-seekers will lose federal jobless aid by the end of March 2014. In the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the 1.3 million workers currently receiving federal EUC willbe abruptly cut off. Another 850,000 workers will run out of stateunemployment insurance in the first three months of 2014, with no access to federal EUC..."

Read the NELP Issue Brief

Visit the National Employment Law Project web site: www.nelp.org

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century (10/18/13 Webcast)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 22:25:00 +0000

50:19

John Conyers @The Economic Bill of Rights for the...

Rep. John Conyers speaks at the An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century conference at Columbia University on October 18, introduced by Chuck Bell of the National Jobs for All Coalition

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century -...

Morning sessions from the conference

02:28:47

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century -...

Afternoon sessions from the conference

Webcast sponsored by ISOC-NY

FRI, OCT 18 >> An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century - Conference in NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:19:00 +0000

Download Event Flyer

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century

A conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Columbia University Seminar on Full Employment, Social Welfare & Equity

Friday, October 18, 2013, 9:00 AM—4:30 PM (breakfast at 8:30 AM)
Columbia University Faculty House
64 Morningside Dr., Manhattan

Livestream Webcast

internetsocietychapters on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

$20 Pre-registration, $25 at Door (includes breakfast & lunch)
$10 low-income, unemployed, students

To register for this event, please visit:

http://economicrights.eventbrite.com

Web: www.EconomicBillofRights.net

Co-sponsors: Columbia University Seminar on Full Employment, Social Welfare & Equity; the Roosevelt Institute; The Nation, The National Jobs for All Coalition; Demos; Dollars & Sense; Workers Defense League; Modern Money Network, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, The Worker Institute at Cornell, ILR School

In 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed an Economic Bill of Rights whose guarantees included employment at living wages, housing, medical care, education and old age security. This conference will consider FDR’s proposal in light of subsequent history. Have any of those rights originally proposed been achieved? What are their interconnections? How does FDR’s Bill of Rights need to be updated for the 21st Century? How can we secure these rights in the present political climate?

Speakers: The Honorable John Conyers (D-MI); David Woolner, Senior Fellow and Resident Hyde Park Historian, The Roosevelt Institute; Philip Harvey, Prof. of Law and Economics, Rutgers University; William Quigley, Prof. of Law, Loyola University; Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg, Professor Emerita of Social Policy, Adelphi University; Sheila D. Collins, Professor Emerita of Political Science, William Paterson University; Helen Lachs Ginsburg, Professor Emerita of Economics, Brooklyn College, CUNY; Dean Baker, Co-Director Center for Economic and Policy Research; William Darity, Jr. , Professor of Public Policy, African and African-American Studies and Economics, Duke University; Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor and Publisher, The Nation; Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary; ; Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy, California Nurses’ Association/National Nurses United; Chris Policano, Director of Communications, AFSCME.

Conference Welcome: Robert Pollack, Director, Columbia University Seminars Program Panel Chairs: June Zaccone, Assoc. Prof. Emerita of Economics, Hofstra University; Eduardo Rosario, Executive Board, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (NYC Chapter); Chuck Bell, Programs Director, Consumers Union; Logan Martinez, Outreach Coordinator, National Jobs for All Coalition Concluding Remarks: Peter Marcuse, Prof. Emeritus of Urban Planning, Columbia University, co-editor Cities for People, Not for Profit, and Searching for the Just City.

To view the Program for this event, visit www.EconomicBillofRights.net

To register for this event, please visit:

http://economicrights.eventbrite.com

More information? Please email us at: economicbillofrights [at] yahoo.com

Web: www.EconomicBillofRights.net

Download Event Flyer

From 1963 to 2013: NPQ's Economic Progress Quiz

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 00:27:00 +0000

Cross-posted from Nonprofit Quarterly

From 1963 to 2013: NPQ’s Economic Progress Quiz

WRITTEN BY CHUCK BELL

CREATED ON WEDNESDAY, 28 AUGUST 2013 13:07

The March for Jobs and Freedom—From 1963 to 2013

NPQ’s Economic Progress Quiz

The March for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 had a very strong emphasis on jobs and economic equality.

As recounted by John Branston at the Memphis CityBeat, the marchers demanded “a massive federal program to train and place all unemployed workers—Negro and white—on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages.” They also demanded a “a national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living. (Government surveys show that anything less than $2 an hour fails to do this.)” They demanded an extension of the Fair Labor Standards Act to include all areas of employment that were presently excluded, and a federal Fair Employment Practices Act that would bar discrimination by federal, state, and municipal governments, and by employers, contractors, employment agencies, and trade unions.

How far have we come in the past fifty years? Take this brief quiz and see for yourself.

Part I: Unemployment

1) Was the unemployment rate in 1963 higher or lower than it is today?

higher
lower
about the same
they didn’t keep labor statistics then

ANSWER: a) lower

The unemployment rate for the workforce as a whole was actually lower in 1963 than it is today. In 1963, the official unemployment rate for the workforce as a whole was 5.7 percent. In July 2013, the official national unemployment rate was 7.4 percent.

2) In 1963, the unemployment rate was 5 percent for whites and about 11 percent for blacks. How has the racial gap in unemployment changed since 1963?

it was completely eliminated
it was reduced by over 50 percent
it was reduced by 25 percent
it is about the same

ANSWER: d) it is about the same

As is recorded in “The Unfinished March: An Overview” by Algernon Austin for the Economic Policy Institute, “In 1963, the black unemployment rate was…2.2 times the white rate.” Black people were over twice as likely to be unemployed as white people. “The ratio of the black unemployment rate to the white unemployment rate has changed little in the intervening decades, ranging from about 2 times to 2.5 times the white rate. In 2012, the ratio was 2.1 (the white unemployment rate was 6.6 percent, compared with 14.0 percent for black unemployment).”

Even when the national unemployment rate has been low, the unemployment rate for African Americans has remained high. For example, in 2000, at the end of the Clinton years, though the national unemployment rate was 4.0 percent, and the non-Hispanic white unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, the unemployment rate of non-Hispanic blacks was still 7.6 percent.

In fact, the average annual unemployment rate closely tracks the 1963 disparity. The average annual unemployment rate for white people over the last 50 years since 1963 has been 5.1 percent. The average annual unemployment rate for blacks has been 11.5 percent. This consistently high rate for blacks is significantly worse than the most recent peak in the national unemployment rate of over 9.5 percent in 2009. The recession in 2009 was considered a serious unemployment crisis demanding the immediate attention of Congress and the President, leading to the enactment of an emergency stimulus package of $787 billion.

3) Who does the Bureau of Labor Statistics currently count as unemployed?

unemployed people actively looking for work in the prior 4 weeks
part-time workers who want a full-time job, but can’t find one
unemployed people who want jobs, but are not actively looking
all of the above

ANSWER: a) unemployed people actively looking for work in the prior 4 weeks

The official unemployment rate of 7.4 percent in July 2013 does not include those underemployed people who work part-time and who may want full-time jobs, or those who are not actively looking for work.

Because of the growth in the population, and more women working, the labor force has grown over time. Six million Americans were officially unemployed in 1963. Fifty years later, in July 2013, 11.5 million people were counted as being officially unemployed. So we have nearly twice as many people unemployed now as we did in 1963.

In July 2013, there were also 14.8 million other people who are considered to be among the “hidden unemployed.” 8.2 million people worked part-time because they couldn’t find a full-time job. Another 6.6 million people wanted jobs but were not actively looking, of which about 2.4 million had searched for work in the prior 12 months, and were available for work during the reference week.

Taken together, 26.3 million people, or 16.2 percent of the labor force need jobs. Currently, there are approximately seven job seekers for every available opening.

(For purposes of calculating the unemployment rate, the approximately 2.3 million Americans in prison are not counted, even though they will likely need jobs if and when they get out of jail.)

Part II: Minimum Wage

4) At the time of the 1963 march, what was the national minimum wage?

$1.00
$1.15
$2.75
$5.25

ANSWER: b) $1.15

5) What is the federal minimum wage in 2013?

$5.25
$7.25
$8.25
$10.25

ANSWER: b) $7.25

6) After adjusting for inflation, how much would the 1963 minimum wage of $1.15 an hour be worth in today’s dollars?

$4.37
$6.37
$8.37
$10.37

ANSWER: c) $8.37

After adjusting for inflation, R.J. Eskow computes that 1963’s minimum wage would be $8.37 in contemporary dollars—and that’s higher than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25.

On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage was increased to its current level, $7.25 per hour. This was the final step of a three-step increase passed in 2007, when the minimum wage was only $5.15. In this last step, about 4.5 million workers received a raise, providing an additional $1.6 billion annually in increased wages. However, once adjusted for inflation, the new federal minimum was still less than the minimum wage through most of the period from 1961 to 1981.

7) At the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom, the marchers demanded an increase of the minimum wage to $2.00 an hour. If they had achieved this increase, how much would that $2.00 minimum wage be worth in today’s dollars?

$9.33
11.33
$13.33
$15.33

ANSWER: d) $15.33

The march’s key civil rights demands were met in 1964 and 1965 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But these economic demands were never met. Ross Eisenbrey of EPI tells us that “The minimum wage was raised to $1.25 in Sept. 1963, but it didn’t reach $2.00 an hour until 1974, by which time inflation had shrunk its value back to 1963 levels.”

At its highest point (in inflation-adjusted dollars) the minimum wage was worth $9.44 in 1968. It’s 23 percent lower now. And despite those who claim that a higher minimum wage leads to greater unemployment, the official unemployment figure in August of 1968 was 3.5 percent—less than half the current rate of 7.4 percent.

Dean Baker and Will Kimball, writing for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, demonstrate in their piece “The Minimum Wage and Economic Growth” that the minimum wage has fallen behind as worker productivity increased. Had it kept pace, the minimum wage in 2012 dollars would be $16.54 an hour.

In 2011, a full-time, year-round worker would need to earn $11.06 an hour to keep a family of four above the poverty line. More than a third of non-Hispanic black workers—36 percent—don’t earn wages that high.

22 million people fell below the poverty line in 1963, while 50 million fell below the poverty rate in 2012.

8) When was the minimum wage for tipped workers last increased?

1968
1991
1994
2008

ANSWER: b) 1991

The minimum wage for tipped workers has not been increased for 22 years. Experts estimate that about 14.5 percent of food service workers live in poverty, including 16.7 percent of waiters.

Part III: Income for Whites and Blacks

9) What percentage of the white median income did black households earn in 1968?

35%
40%
60%
75%

ANSWER: c) 60%

10) What percentage of white median income did black households earn in 2010?

37%
57%
87%
97%

ANSWER: b) 57%

In the period between 1968 and 1980, black median income relative to the median income of whites declined from 60 percent to about 57 percent. It reached 62 percent in the year 2000, as unemployment rates trended down, and it has since fallen back to about 57 percent of white median income. Latino families also have a median income of about 57 percent of white median income in 2010.

11) In 2009, the median White American had $98,000 in net worth, defined as assets (such as home equity, investments, retirement savings) minus debts. How much did the median Black American have in net worth?

$88,000
$42,000
$21,000
$2,200

ANSWER: d) $2,200

Part IV: The Fair Labor Standards Act

12) According to the FLSA, what is the current federal minimum wage for workers who receive tips?

$2.13
$4.13
$5.13
$7.25

ANSWER: a) $2.13

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires payment of at least the federal minimum wage to covered, nonexempt employees. However, an employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages, provided that amount plus any tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips, and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Some states have minimum wage laws specific to tipped employees. When an employee is subject to both the federal and state wage laws, the employee is entitled to the provisions which provides the greater benefits.

13) What types of workers are excluded from the overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act?

home care workers
farmworkers
executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees
all of the above

ANSWER: d) all of the above

FLSA, originally enacted in 1938, guarantees most workers a minimum wage for each hour worked. FLSA also provides for overtime pay by requiring that most employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek be paid one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for each hour over forty hours per week. FLSA further requires employers to comply with recordkeeping requirements, including maintaining payroll records for employees.

Since its enactment, home care workers have been excluded from the overtime and minimum wage provisions of the FLSA. Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, working with domestic workers’ advocates, proposed new regulations in 2012 that would undo this “companionship exemption” and apply federal minimum wage and overtime laws to caregivers.

Also, until 1966, the FLSA excluded farmworkers. FLSA now applies the minimum wage and recordkeeping provisions to most agricultural workers and employers. Agricultural workers who are paid on a piecework basis rather than an hourly basis are entitled to receive the minimum wage -- their average earnings should be sufficient to yield an average hourly wage at least equivalent to the minimum wage. The overtime pay provisions of FLSA still do not apply to farmworkers, though. Further, the many agricultural workers employed on smaller farms—any farm that employs fewer than roughly seven workers in a calendar quarter—are not even protected by the minimum wage provisions of the FLSA.

The FSLA also does not apply to certain types of administrative, office and computer work, which may pose difficulties for certain types of workers who fall into these categories.

Results

From the foregoing, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Black people in America live in a permanent, never-ending recession that is not taken seriously by political leaders and economic policymakers. Life is a permanent state of emergency for all American workers who are unemployed, underemployed and underpaid. Further, it seems that workers and communities will need to be highly organized and insistent to secure the modest, highly reasonable economic justice demands made by the civil rights marchers in 1963.

Several weeks before his death in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told a group of santiation workers in Memphis:

“Now our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality. For we know now that it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters. What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn’t have enough money to buy a hamburger?”

With increased spending on the war in Vietnam, less resources were made available for the War on Poverty and public job creation. Government action to create jobs and reduce poverty became a non-priority. Direct government creation programs, such as CETA, ended in 1982 after the election of President Reagan. Today, many conservatives and liberals alike believe that “government can’t create jobs.” Many seem to think the private sector will create all the jobs we need. But with 26 million Americans in search of work, it seems unlikely private market forces will close the gap anytime soon.

Given that our communities have so many unmet needs, it’s time to think about closing America’s other gaping deficits: the deficit of good living wage jobs, and the deficit of underinvestment in infrastructure and public services. If we were meeting America’s needs for roads, bridges, schools, water systems, clean energy, affordable housing, home care, child care and afterschool programs, all of us would be working—and then some.

Chuck Bell is Vice-Chair for the National Jobs for All Coalition, based in Lynbrook, New York. NJFAC is a national organization working to create a new national movement for full employment. NJFAC participated in the 50th Anniversary March for Jobs and Freedom on August 24. With the coalition’s support, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has introduced HR 1000, the 21st Century Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act, to provide a living wage job for everyone who wants one. For more info, visit www.NJFAC.org. We are proud to say that Chuck Bell is also the chair of the NPQ board of directors.

Terms:Democratic Activism, Inequality

Direct Link >>

From 1963 to 2013: NPQ’s Economic Progress Quiz

WRITTEN BY CHUCK BELL

CREATED ON WEDNESDAY, 28 AUGUST 2013 13:07

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The March for Jobs and Freedom—From 1963 to 2013

NPQ’s Economic Progress Quiz

The March for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 had a very strong emphasis on jobs and economic equality.

How far have we come in the past fifty years? Take this brief quiz and see for yourself.

Part I: Unemployment

1) Was the unemployment rate in 1963 higher or lower than it is today?

higher
lower
about the same
they didn’t keep labor statistics then

ANSWER: a) lower

2) In 1963, the unemployment rate was 5 percent for whites and about 11 percent for blacks. How has the racial gap in unemployment changed since 1963?

it was completely eliminated
it was reduced by over 50 percent
it was reduced by 25 percent
it is about the same

ANSWER: d) it is about the same

3) Who does the Bureau of Labor Statistics currently count as unemployed?

unemployed people actively looking for work in the prior 4 weeks
part-time workers who want a full-time job, but can’t find one
unemployed people who want jobs, but are not actively looking
all of the above

ANSWER: a) unemployed people actively looking for work in the prior 4 weeks

Taken together, 26.3 million people, or 16.2 percent of the labor force need jobs. Currently, there are approximately seven job seekers for every available opening.

(For purposes of calculating the unemployment rate, the approximately 2.3 million Americans in prison are not counted, even though they will likely need jobs if and when they get out of jail.)

Part II: Minimum Wage

4) At the time of the 1963 march, what was the national minimum wage?

$1.00
$1.15
$2.75
$5.25

ANSWER: b) $1.15

5) What is the federal minimum wage in 2013?

$5.25
$7.25
$8.25
$10.25

ANSWER: b) $7.25

6) After adjusting for inflation, how much would the 1963 minimum wage of $1.15 an hour be worth in today’s dollars?

$4.37
$6.37
$8.37
$10.37

ANSWER: c) $8.37

After adjusting for inflation, R.J. Eskow computes that 1963’s minimum wage would be $8.37 in contemporary dollars—and that’s higher than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25.

$9.33
11.33
$13.33
$15.33

ANSWER: d) $15.33

22 million people fell below the poverty line in 1963, while 50 million fell below the poverty rate in 2012.

8) When was the minimum wage for tipped workers last increased?

1968
1991
1994
2008

ANSWER: b) 1991

The minimum wage for tipped workers has not been increased for 22 years. Experts estimate that about 14.5 percent of food service workers live in poverty, including 16.7 percent of waiters.

Part III: Income for Whites and Blacks

9) What percentage of the white median income did black households earn in 1968?

35%
40%
60%
75%

ANSWER: c) 60%

10) What percentage of white median income did black households earn in 2010?

37%
57%
87%
97%

ANSWER: b) 57%

$88,000
$42,000
$21,000
$2,200

ANSWER: d) $2,200

Part IV: The Fair Labor Standards Act

12) According to the FLDA, what is the current federal minimum wage for workers who receive tips?

$2.13
$4.13
$5.13
$7.25

ANSWER: a) $2.13

13) What types of workers are excluded from the overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act?

home care workers
farmworkers
executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees
all of the above

ANSWER: d) all of the above

The FSLA also does not apply to certain types of administrative, office and computer work, which may pose difficulties for certain types of workers who fall into these categories.

Results

Several weeks before his death in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told a group of santiation workers in Memphis:

Chuck Bell is Vice-Chair for the National Jobs for All Coalition, based in Lynbrook, New York. NJFAC is a national organization working to create a new national movement for full employment. NJFAC participated in the 50th Anniversary March for Jobs and Freedom on August 24. With the coalition’s support, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has introduced HR 1000, the 21st Century Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act, to provide a living wage job for everyone who wants one. For more info, visitwww.NJFAC.org. We are proud to say thatChuck Bell is also the chair of the NPQ board of directors.

Terms:Democratic Activism, Inequality

Read more news and commentary from Nonprofit Quarterly at: http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org

Student debt weighs on overall economy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:35:00 +0000

Cross-posted from USA Today
Student debt weighs on overall economy
Cliff Peale, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5-19-13

The loans that gave college students the funds they needed to move forward in life are now holding them back.

CINCINNATI -- Mary Knauff would like to start saving money, for retirement or for some future spending.

But because of about $28,000 in student loans, which she's paid down to about $17,000, the 2010 Xavier University graduate will continue living paycheck to paycheck.

"It's sort of disheartening," said Knauff, 25. "I knew going in that I was going to a private school. Especially when you're trying to get started, when loans take up a third of your living expenses, it's frustrating."

That delay in buying cars and condos, in starting families and savings accounts, reveals the true cost of student debt, to graduates such as Knauff and to the larger economy.

Read rest of article

HR 1000 reintroduced on March 6!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:23:00 +0000

HR 1000, the Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act, was reintroduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) on March 6, 2013. This transformative federal legislation would create a national public service jobs program to complement job creation efforts in the private and nonprofit sectors.

Most notably, the bill "aims to provide a job to any American that seeks work, and to ultimately, create a full employment society."

HR 1000 creates a national "Full Employment and Training Trust Fund," funded by a small Financial Transactions Tax on stock, bond and derivatives transactions. This would create a major new national funding source large enough to create 2.5 to 4 million jobs in the first two years of the program. The bill would also provide much additional funding to support innovative job training programs, such as one-stop career centers, YouthBuild and Job Corps, among others.

(Previous versions of HR 1000 were introduced in 2010 and 2011 (HR 870 and HR 4277)).

For more information, read HR 1000 and the bill summary.

Download Full Text of HR 1000

Download Bill Summary

Sign our Petition to Create a National Jobs Program!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:29:00 +0000

Poster from the WPA Work Programs of the 1930s

Join the movement for Jobs for All by signing a petition to Congress to enact HR 1000, the Humphrey Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act, introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).

Promote the link to the petition: http://www.blastroots.com/campaign/put-america-to-work

Artstrike!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:21:00 +0000

Dec. 19, 2012 is ARTSTRIKE — a day of action to share powerful art and music that can convince our friends that more cuts and tax breaks aren’t the answer. Artists from across the country have come together to make their voices heard. It couldn't come at a more urgent time, as Washington, D.C. nears a deal that would slash Social Security and raises taxes on the poor and middle class. Check out a few of my favorites below, and help me share them far and wide. music that can convince our friends that more cuts and tax breaks aren’t the answer. Artists from across the country have come together to make their voices heard. It couldn't come at a more urgent time, as Washington, D.C. nears a deal that would slash Social Security and raises taxes on the poor and middle class. Check out a few of my favorites below, and help me share them far and wide.

http://artstrike.tumblr.com/

Without deal, unemployment checks stop Dec. 29

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 04:11:00 +0000

Without deal, unemployment checks stop Dec. 29:'
Paul Davidson, USA Today, 12/17/12

"...About 2.1 million Americans will lose their extended jobless benefits on Dec. 29, leaving many on the brink of poverty, if Washington doesn't renew them as part of a deal on the package of tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff."

An additional 930,000 people will run out of unemployment insurance in early 2013 when their 26 weeks, give or take, of state benefits end, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

Although the issue is far less publicized than other parts of the fiscal cliff, such as income-tax increases and entitlement reform, an abrupt cutoff of benefits would have a far more dramatic impact on the well-being of millions of Americans."

Read rest of article

We're Not Broke!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:57:00 +0000

We're not broke, we're not broke! We're being played for chumps. There's no "fiscal crisis." There is, however, a Destructive Political Opportunity in arguing about the so-called "fiscal crisis."

The real crisis is the jobs and unemployment crisis. For every 1 million people that go back to work THE FEDERAL DEFICIT GOES DOWN BY $54 BILLION.

TIght labor markets -- low unemployment -- is the key for working people. MASS UNEMPLOYMENT drives down wages. If wages go up, the budget balance for Medicare and Social Security looks much better.

[30 second economic teach-in] Live better, cut the crap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33ywO0SgGYE

Why Austerity Economics Hurts Low-Wage Workers the Most

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 15:51:00 +0000

by Robert Reich, 12/5/12

Cross posted from RobertReich.org

"... What does the drama in Washington over the “fiscal cliff” have to do with strikes and work stoppages among America’s lowest-paid workers at Walmart, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Domino’s Pizza?"

"Everything. Jobs are slowly returning to America, but most of them pay lousy wages and low if non-existent benefits. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that seven out of 10 growth occupations over the next decade will be low-wage — like serving customers at big-box retailers and fast-food chains."

"That’s why the median wage keeps dropping, especially for the 80 percent of the workforce that’s paid by the hour..."

Read rest of article

See Robert Reich's Slideshow for his new book, Beyond Outrage

The Forgotten Millions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 15:45:00 +0000

The Forgotten Millions - NYTimes.com

By Paul Krugman, 12/6/12

"...Let’s get one thing straight: America is not facing a fiscal crisis. It is, however, still very much experiencing a job crisis. It’s easy to get confused about the fiscal thing, since everyone’s talking about the “fiscal cliff.” Indeed, one recent poll suggests that a large plurality of the public believes that the budget deficit will go up if we go off that cliff."

 "In fact, of course, it’s just the opposite: The danger is that the deficit will come down too much, too fast. And the reasons that might happen are purely political; we may be about to slash spending and raise taxes not because markets demand it, but because Republicans have been using blackmail as a bargaining strategy, and the president seems ready to call their bluff..."

Read rest of article

Dude, Where's My Job?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 15:33:00 +0000

If you're feeling frustrated by getting caught up in the austerity-deficit-obsession framing of the Right, Center, and Neo-Liberal-Left, don't feel bad.

You're the victim of a corporate scam, funded by the ill-gotten gains of private equity billionaire Pete Peterson, who has been generously investing in media and think tank generation of deficit hysteria, through his tax-exempt (!) foundation.

Meanwhile, the former CEO of Blackstone group pays the bargain-basement 15% tax rate on carried interest that is the relatively exclusive privilege of America's richest families and hedge fund managers. The guy ran around leaving a trail of smashed union jobs and corporate wreckage.

We were idiots to let him get away with this, but we are insane if we treat him as a source of authority for dealing with the severe unemployment crisis this country is facing. You know the old saying, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice....

Criticizing a "Fiscal Summit" that Peterson organized, Bob Kuttner of the American Prospect pointed out the irony of involving Peterson's hand-picked experts -- Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin -- to pontificate about how to fix the economy they wrecked.

If the orgy of financial deregulation that led to the crash had two prime sponsors, the Democratic one was Rubin and the Republican one was Greenspan. Inviting these characters to a fiscal summit to devise a way out of the crisis is like inviting arsonists to design a seminar on fire prevention.
Peterson himself, who underwrites the work of the foundation with a billion dollar gift, made his money as one of America’s private-equity moguls. Private equity companies have been among main offenders in the world of shadow banking that helped cause the collapse, and are now lobbying against tough financial reform and regulation.

So, the next time you see Peterson, or David Walker, or one of these "Fix the Debt CEOs" running around barking economic orders, turn on your crap detector. You want to fix the Debt, Mr. Corporate CEO? Shut up and pay your fair share, and quit gouging the public and gouging workers with your lavish tax breaks, corporate welfare and union-smashing schemes.

As Malcolm X said, "...Ya been had! Ya been took! Ya been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok!"

Cross-posted from the Campaign for America's Future

What You Need To Know About Peter G. Peterson

What's Behind His Big-Money Campaign On The Federal Deficit

November 21st, 2012

RESOURCES YOU CAN USE

Peter G. Peterson is an American businessman who was CEO of several prominent companies such as Bell & Howell and Lehman Brothers before founding the private equity firm Blackstone Group. He is currently most well-known for being the founder and principal financier of his Peter G. Peterson Foundation, that claims their mission is to "increase public awareness of the nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America's future and to accelerate action on them." He also served as Secretary of Commerce under President Richard Nixon.

He has been called the most influential billionaire in politics due to his spreading of his wealth throughout the political spectrum to reduce the debt.

Our Take on Peter G. Peterson

These "Fix the Debt" CEOs are the same CEOs that crashed our economy, took their bonuses, and ran, leaving the rest of America to clean up their mess. Although their calls for bipartisan cooperation hit all the right notes to the American public, we believe that the push to get a lower corporate tax rate from a bipartisan solution is the ulterior motive of these CEOs. Peterson himself has contributed almost half a billion dollars to his foundation that pushes for the reform of programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Peterson has not limited his donations to one party, but rather built a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. His efforts are complimented by his online news service, The Fiscal Times, which supports the Peterson-funded groups in his vision.

Read rest of article

Women's Employment Report Video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:32:00 +0000

 Noreen Connell of National Organization For Women of New York State (NOW-NYS) interviews

Jon Bloom of the Workers Defense League
Jim Brown of the New York State Labor Department, and
Helen Ginsburg of the National Jobs for All Coalition

about the jobs crisis and the need for a national jobs program.

 Produced by the National Organization For Women of New York State (NOW-NYS) and Manhattan Neighborhood Network.

 More info:

National Jobs for All Coalition: www.JobsCampaign.org, www.NJFAC.org

 National Organizaiton for Women: www.NOWNYS.org

 Workers Defense League: (212) 627-1931

 NY State Department of Labor: www.Labor.ny.gov

Robert Pollin: Back To Full Employment

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 02:40:00 +0000

More at The Real News

More at The Real News

Cross-posted from The Real News

Robert Pollin is interviewed by Paul Jay on the Real News about the jobs crisis and the opportunity to pursue economic policies that would create full employment, where everyone who wants to work could have a job.

For more information, see Bob's new book, Back to Full Employment, on MIT Press. Here's more info from the publisher's web site.

Back to Full Employment

Robert Pollin

 Full employment used to be an explicit goal of economic policy in most of the industrialized world. Some countries even achieved it. In Back to Full Employment, economist Robert Pollin argues that the United States--today faced with its highest level of unemployment since the Great Depression--should put full employment back on the agenda. 

There are good reasons to seek full employment, Pollin writes. Full employment will help individuals, families, and the economy as a whole, while promoting equality and social stability. Equally important, creating a full-employment economy can be joined effectively with two other fundamental policy aims: ending our dependence on fossil fuels and creating an economy powered by clean energy. 

Explaining views on full employment in macroeconomic theory from Marx to Keynes to Friedman, Pollin argues that the policy was abandoned in the United States in the 1970s for the wrong reasons, and he shows how it can be achieved today despite the serious challenges of inflation and globalization. Pollin believes the biggest obstacle to creating a full-employment economy is politics. Putting an end to the prevailing neoliberal opposition to full employment will require nothing less than an epoch-defining reallocation of political power away from the interests of big business and Wall Street and toward the middle class, working people, and the poor, while mounting a strong defense of the environment. In the end, achieving full employment will be a matter of political will: Can the United States make having a decent job a fundamental right? 

About the Author 

Robert Pollin is Professor of Economics and Codirector of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Austerity and coauthor of A Measure of Fairness: The Economics of Living Wages and Minimum Wages in the United States.

Workers Stand for America -- Join us in Philly!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:38:00 +0000

From: WorkersStandForAmerica.com

Join Us in Philly!

11 a.m. Saturday, August 11, 2012

Eakins Oval
26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130

NEW: LIVE DIGITAL COVERAGE ON AUGUST 11TH... (click for more info)

America's Second Bill of Rights

We the People want to strengthen our nation, as a beacon of equality, economic opportunity and freedom for all. We hold these rights to be essential to our vision of America and believe that the principles contained therein should guide our government, business leaders, organizations and individuals in our common goal of a just and fair society.

The Right to Full Employment and a Living Wage:

All Americans willing and able to work have the right to safe, gainful employment at a fair and livable wage. We call on the public and private sectors to invest in America’s infrastructure and promote industrial development, maintaining job creation as a top policy priority.

The Right to Full Participation in the Electoral Process:

Recent initiatives to disenfranchise citizens seek to reduce the rolls of eligible voters and empower money instead of people. We believe these actions constitute an assault on our nation’s democracy and history of heroic struggle against voting restrictions based upon property ownership, religion, race and gender and call for reinforcing our fundamental right to vote.

The Right to a Voice at Work:

All workers have the right of freedom of association in the workplace, including the right to collectively bargain with their employer to improve wages, benefits and working conditions.

The Right to a Quality Education:

Education is a fundamental bedrock of our democracy, vital to America’s competitive position in the world and the principal means by which citizens empower themselves to participate in our nation's economic and political systems. Quality, affordable education should be universally available from pre-kindergarten to college level, including an expanded use of apprenticeships and specialty skills training to prepare Americans for the workplace.

The Right to a Secure, Healthy Future:

Americans have the right to a baseline level of health care, unemployment insurance and retirement security, all of which have been badly eroded by the disruption of the social compact that served the nation well for decades. We call on government and private industry together to confront the issues of declining access to health care especially for children, weakening of unemployment coverage, and inadequate pension plans that undermine the ability of working men and women to retire in dignity, even as Social Security and Medicare are under strain and threatened with cutbacks.

Endorse the Second Bill of Rights at WorkersStandForAmerica.com

Full Employment Now!

December 10 is International Human Rights Day. We demand our right to a Living Wage Job!!

Can We Earn a Living on a Living Planet?

Low wages keep restaurant workers in cycle of poverty

Most unemployed don't get benefits

1 in 7 Young Adults Neither Working Nor in School

More than a Third of U.S. Workers are Freelancers Now

The Poorly Attended Hearing on One of the Economy's Toughest Problems

Join sign-on campaign in support of HR 1000!!

Jobs for All Campaign

Jobs for All Campaign Quality Jobs with a Living Wage and a Voice in the Workplace

Conyers Forms Full Employment Caucus

Conyers forms Full Employment Caucus

Rep. John Conyers (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Congressional Budget Deal Fails to Extend Aid for Long-Term Unemployed

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century (10/18/13 Webcast)

John Conyers @The Economic Bill of Rights for the...

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century -...

An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century -...

FRI, OCT 18 >> An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century - Conference in NYC

From 1963 to 2013: NPQ's Economic Progress Quiz

From 1963 to 2013: NPQ’s Economic Progress Quiz

Part I: Unemployment

Part II: Minimum Wage

Part III: Income for Whites and Blacks

Part IV: The Fair Labor Standards Act

Results

From 1963 to 2013: NPQ’s Economic Progress Quiz

Part I: Unemployment

Part II: Minimum Wage

Part III: Income for Whites and Blacks

Part IV: The Fair Labor Standards Act

Results

Student debt weighs on overall economy

HR 1000 reintroduced on March 6!

Sign our Petition to Create a National Jobs Program!!

Artstrike!!

Without deal, unemployment checks stop Dec. 29

We're Not Broke!!

Why Austerity Economics Hurts Low-Wage Workers the Most

The Forgotten Millions

Dude, Where's My Job?

What You Need To Know About Peter G. Peterson

What's Behind His Big-Money Campaign On The Federal Deficit

RESOURCES YOU CAN USE

Women's Employment Report Video

Robert Pollin: Back To Full Employment

Workers Stand for America -- Join us in Philly!!

Join Us in Philly! 11 a.m. Saturday, August 11, 2012

Eakins Oval26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin ParkwayPhiladelphia, PA 19130

America's Second Bill of Rights

The Right to Full Employment and a Living Wage:

The Right to Full Participation in the Electoral Process:

The Right to a Voice at Work:

The Right to a Quality Education:

The Right to a Secure, Healthy Future:

Click to Download the "Bill of Rights"in Printable PDF format

Click to Download the "Sign-up Sheet" in Printable PDF format

Jobs for All Campaign

Quality Jobs with a Living Wage and a Voice in the Workplace

Join Us in Philly!

11 a.m. Saturday, August 11, 2012

Eakins Oval
26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130