Labor Union Blog

By Doug Cunningham

Economist Dean Baker says the U.S. will get through the financial crisis but there’s plenty of economic trouble to wade through before things rebound.

[Baker]: “My expectations we will get through the immediate financial crisis. There will be more bank failures. There will definitely be a lot of very bad news coming from the financial sector, but we will get through that. Now, we're still going to have a very serious recession. We have to switch fro ma situation where we had a near zero savings rate to a situation where we have a normal savings rate - somewhere around 8 percent of household income."

By Doug Cunningham

International Association of Machinists president Tom Buffenbarger is willing to join the talks to end the Boeing strike if he’s needed. Talks began Sunday for the first time since the 27,000 union workers went on strike at Boeing. The strike has shut down Boeing aircraft production. The union says so far the strike has cost Boeing more than $3.7 billion, or roughly $100 million a day in lost sales. Buffenbarger says the union is having a hard time in its effort to end the strike. Issues include job security, retirement security and health care.

The United Steelworkers gave GOP Vice-Presidential candidate a reception she deserved at a Republican fundraiser in Pittsburgh. Jesse Russell has the story.

[Street Noise]

The United Steelworkers joined with several other unions to drive home the message that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin doesn’t represent union workers even if her husband is a card carrying union member. The VP pick has used her husband’s Steelworker membership to try and win over blue collar workers that may traditionally be less inclined to vote for a Republican. Palin was in Pittsburgh on Friday for a $1000 per plate fundraiser and the Steelworkers said they led the march from their headquarters to the Westin Convention Center so she could meet the union that represents her husband;

How appropriate Sen. John McCain didn't mention the words "middle class" in this week's presidential debate—or in the first presidential debate.

Because as a proponent of and heir to the greedy, corrupt, rich-first regime of the past eight years, McCain and the conservative ideologues, who he's trying to distance himself from to win the election, are reaping the rotten fruits of policies that have systematically devastated the sound financial foundations of America's working families.

Just to note a few: Tax policies that encourage corporations to ship family-supporting U.S. jobs overseas. Payoffs to the CEO class and their country club buddies through massive tax cuts for the wealthy—excessive expenditures that provide reactionaries a convenient excuse for shortchanging programs for children's health coverage or affordable prescription medication for seniors or an expanded safety net for the growing numbers of unemployed workers. Chaos and destruction in the financial world that may mean few of us get pensions. The recent financial debacle has wiped out $2 trillion in our pension savings in the past 15 months. Rather than retire at age 65, many of us will be forced to work until we die, repeating variations of:

Welcome to Big Burger. How can I help you?