Everywhere you look these days a new supermarket or big-box retailer is putting up a huge building and promising to create jobs. But the reality is that big-box stores such as Wal-Mart do more harm than good.
Hundreds of thousands of union, human rights and community activists on Nov. 17 will protest abuses by big-box retailers. The International Day of Action Against Supermarkets and Big-Box Retailers is being sponsored by a global coalition of groups, including United Students Against Sweatshops and the workers’ rights group, STITCH.
When you have corporate-friendly National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) members in charge of protecting workers’ rights, it certainly is akin to the old tale of the fox guarding the henhouse.
In Nashville, Tenn., a very evil-looking six-foot-tall fox took on the role of the NLRB as dozens of union members marched yesterday in front of the regional NLRB offices to protest the board’s long line of anti-worker decisions since President Bush took control of the board.
The Nashville action was one of more than 20 held around the nation as thousands of union members said it is time for the labor board to be “closed for renovations” until a pro-worker board is appointed.
Along with the thousand-strong march and rally in Washington, D.C., other events were held in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Phoenix, St. Louis and Tampa, Fla. In Albuquerque, N.M., union members were joined by community and religious activists and city and state lawmakers in a rally outside the federal building, drawing cheers and honks of support from pedestrians and drivers passing by.
Do you want to know what kind of economic subsidies or tax breaks that big-box store in your town received from the state? Or how much the plant down river that’s belching noxious fumes spent lobbying state lawmakers?
A new study by Good Jobs First finds your chances of tracking down that information depend on where you live. The State of State Disclosure reports that many state governments are using the Internet to improve their ability to make such information available to residents. But others have far to go before the public gets easy access to information about where their tax dollars go and which corporations are flexing the most lobbying muscle.
More than 10,000 working men and women took action this week and told Congress to invest in America’s priorities.
And last night, Congress had the chance to take on President Bush and support our nation’s workers, veterans and children.
But, as the Associated Press reports, just enough Republicans in Congress sided with Bush to sustain his veto of the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced yesterday the national union will not make an early endorsement in the 2008 presidential primaries. CWA locals and councils, however, are able to make their own endorsements.
The decision was made as a result of the union’s CWA Votes effort, which polled members around the country about their preferences in the 2008 race. More than 30,000 member votes came in. CWA President Larry Cohen said the results of polling reflect the wide-open nature of the race. According to Cohen:
Voters made clear that they preferred no endorsement by the national union at this time. Therefore, our union’s executive board is refraining from making an early endorsement but voted to release locals and CWA councils to make their own endorsements.
Labor educators, economists and journalists have labeled Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, a unique and innovative initiative to harness the power of millions of working men and women who don’t have a union on the job but say they want a voice in the policies and decisions that affect their lives.
The two-day seminar was sponsored by Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program and hosted by professor Richard Freeman, faculty co-director of the Labor and Worklife Program, and Elaine Bernard, the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program.
This is a cross post from the Firedoglake blog.
What happens when you e-mail President Bush with concerns over the president’s handling of workers’ rights? You get an auto-generated e-mail, natch—but one filled top to bottom with lies. Let’s take a look.
From: “White House Strategic Initiatives”
Subject: Thank you for sharing your concerns about U.S. workers’ rights
Reply-To: “White House Strategic Initiatives“
Thank you for sharing your concerns about U.S. workers’ rights.
President Bush is committed to the well-being of America’s working men and women and their families, and his economic policies are having a real effect.
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