News for today's 2018

It isn't the recession, stupid, it's China

7:01 AM Tukiyooo 0

China's unfair trade practices cost U.S. workers $37 billion in just one year, according to a new report by our friend Rob Scott at the <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/trading-manufacturing-advantage-china-trade/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a>.<br /><br />That comes out to an average of $13,505 for every U.S. worker who lost a job in manufacturing because of China's rapacity. Scott assumed (correctly, we think) that workers laid off after their factory moved to China ended up making far less money as fast-food cooks, rental counter clerks and call center workers.<br /><br />Most news reports blamed "the recession" for the disappearance of good jobs. The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/28/how-the-recession-turned-middle-class-jobs-into-low-wage-jobs/" rel="nofollow">Washington Post</a>, for example, reported on a <a href="http://www.nelp.org/page/-/Job_Creation/LowWageRecovery2012.pdf?nocdn=1" rel="nofollow">National Employment Law Project</a> study in February:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Mid-wage occupations, paying between $13.83 and $21.13 per hour, made up about 60 percent of the job losses during the recession. But those mid-wage jobs have made up just 27 percent of the jobs gained during the recovery. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">By contrast, low-wage occupations paying less than $13.83 per hour have utterly dominated the recovery, with 58 percent of the job gains since 2010.</blockquote>Scott, though, puts the blame where it belongs: on China. He examined the impact of the U.S. trade deficit with China after it entered the World Trade Organization in 2001. Here are some of his other findings:<br /><ul><li>The increase in the U.S. trade deficit with China between 2001 and 2011 eliminated 2.7 million U.S. jobs, over 2.1 million (76.9 percent) of which were in manufacturing.</li><li>Growing U.S. trade deficits with China between 2001 and 2011 displaced a disproportionately large number of good jobs for minority workers—958,800 good jobs with excellent benefits, 35.0 percent of total jobs displaced.</li><li>China trade cost U.S. workers 997,700 good jobs with excellent benefits for workers without any college education </li><li>Workers with a bachelor’s degree or more education lost 1.057 million jobs</li><li>Rapidly growing China trade deficits cost nearly 1.1 million jobs in computer and electronic products between 2001 and 2011.</li></ul>Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/trading-manufacturing-advantage-china-trade/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><div><br /></div>

China low-wage jobs It isn't the recession, stupid, it's China

China's unfair trade practices cost U.S. workers $37 billion in just one year, according to a new report by our friend Rob Scott at the ...

Nationwide fast food strike announced for Aug. 29

12:53 PM Tukiyooo 0

fast food strike low-wage jobs Nationwide fast food strike announced for Aug. 29

A national fast food strike involving thousands of low-wage workers will take place Aug. 29, the first national job action since the wave of...

Biggest wave of fast-food strikes begins today

7:50 AM Tukiyooo 0

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container tr_bq" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlw40T38H_W-SA6YquGRfzhF25aLpbV6LLI47lAD4TGCVwiiUP_3S18ylCb7uKJyop0iwapZh7j6DJUThdhXu8ZKQPZurw1_6YSwKs-dWqJS2CZNR4-boWuTOcvWOY6MbCTmMiJ6MOUF4/s1600/fast+food+strike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlw40T38H_W-SA6YquGRfzhF25aLpbV6LLI47lAD4TGCVwiiUP_3S18ylCb7uKJyop0iwapZh7j6DJUThdhXu8ZKQPZurw1_6YSwKs-dWqJS2CZNR4-boWuTOcvWOY6MbCTmMiJ6MOUF4/s320/fast+food+strike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fast-food strike in New York City today.</td></tr></tbody></table>A wave of fast-food strikes began in New York City today as workers prepare to walk off the job in seven more cities over the next few days. It is likely to be the biggest mobilization of low-wage workers since the short, sudden one-day job actions began in November.<br /><br />Fast-food workers are striking in restaurants like McDonald's, Papa John's and Wendy's in New York City. More walkouts are planned for Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Mo., and Flint, Mich. The workers demand a living wage and the right to form a union without retaliation.<br /><br />The success of previous fast-food strikes has given momentum to the growing movement for livable wages. Josh Eidelson, writing in <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/07/29/fast_food_strikes_intensify_in_seven_cities/" rel="nofollow">Salon</a>, spoke to a fast-food worker a month ago:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">St. Louis Jimmy John’s employee Rasheen Aldridge told Salon that there “was a whole lot of nervousness” when he and three co-workers at his store first went on strike in May. “There was a big chance that I could of got fired,” said Aldridge, “because that’s just how, you know, fast food operates.” But when they returned to work in one piece, he said his co-workers’ reaction was “You know, you guys sort of took the step we all need to do.”</blockquote>Today's walkout is generating national media attention, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/sunday-review/fighting-back-against-wretched-wages.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">The New York Times</a>, broadcast and cable news networks and the <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/fast-food-strike-detroit-st-louis-new-york-chicago-3-other-cities-striking-monday-increased-pay">financial press</a>. Steven Greenhouse at The New York Times writes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Often relegated to the background, America’s low-wage workers have been making considerable noise lately by deploying an unusual weapon — one-day strikes — to make their message heard: they’re sick and tired of earning just $8, $9, $10 an hour. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Their anger has been stoked by what they see as a glaring disconnect: their wages have flatlined, while median pay for chief executives at the nation’s top corporations jumped 16 percent last year, averaging a princely $15.1 million, according to Equilar, an executive compensation analysis firm. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">In recent weeks, workers from McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other fast-food restaurants — many of them part-time employees — have staged one-day walkouts in New York, Chicago, Detroit and Seattle to protest their earnings, typically just $150 to $350 a week, often too little to support themselves and their families. </blockquote><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-29/fast-food-workers-strike-for-higher-wages-in-u-s-cities.html" rel="nofollow">Bloomberg News</a> reports that low-wage jobs are the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The leisure and hospitality industry, which includes restaurants, is adding jobs faster than any other sector in the U.S. In June, the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/USEHTOTS:IND" rel="nofollow">sector</a> added 75,000 jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fast-food cooks make $9.02 an hour, or about $18,760 a year, on average, according to 2012 <a href="http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag72.htm" rel="nofollow">data</a> from the Washington-based agency.</blockquote>The problem of low wages isn't limited to fast-food workers. Today, Hope Yen at the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/28/poverty-unemployment-rates_n_3666594.html?utm_hp_ref=tw">Associated Press</a> reported that 80 percent of adults in the United States struggle to earn enough money at some point in their lives:<br /><blockquote>Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream... </blockquote><blockquote>Nationwide, the count of America's poor remains stuck at a record number: 46.2 million, or 15 percent of the population, due in part to lingering high unemployment following the recession.</blockquote>

fast food workers low-wage jobs strike Biggest wave of fast-food strikes begins today

Fast-food strike in New York City today. A wave of fast-food strikes began in New York City today as workers prepare to walk off the job in ...

Workers strike, storm DC rail station, demand living wage from federal contractors

11:49 AM Tukiyooo 0

Scores of Washington, D.C., federal contract workers walked off the job and stormed the city's main rail station today to voice their anger over their poverty wages. The rally at Union Station is the third one-day strike in three weeks by workers demanding the government require its contractors to pay employees fairly.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT0wuBaLMykvG6PQJ0uupyPDUIAJ58vBlW2fLn1Mw3XLUTgxy6mTW3OiVcbB60Bcd5mq7dShSsmJvfFiIptB17BhyTYNmtlHnzsMtzZuHnBxAyw3y_Pd5IrAsjCGfpqEahLkghSaP8B3t/s1600/7-18DCstrike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT0wuBaLMykvG6PQJ0uupyPDUIAJ58vBlW2fLn1Mw3XLUTgxy6mTW3OiVcbB60Bcd5mq7dShSsmJvfFiIptB17BhyTYNmtlHnzsMtzZuHnBxAyw3y_Pd5IrAsjCGfpqEahLkghSaP8B3t/s320/7-18DCstrike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Workers call out federal contractors for low wages.</td></tr></tbody></table>Demonstrators brought attention to their plight by walking through the station where many of them are employed. They were seen by hundreds of commuters toward the end of the morning rush hour before being asked to leave. They later took their fight to the U.S. Department of Transportation, where they "pied" a protester dressed as Uncle Sam.<br /><br />The Twitter feed of <a href="https://twitter.com/GoodJobsNation">@GoodJobsNation</a> gave a full running commentary of the morning's events, which showed workers trying to feed their families on $8.25 an hour aren't going to take it anymore. Among the chants heard at the rally:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">American flag UP! Corporate flag DOWN! Workers' wages UP! Corporate wages DOWN!</blockquote>Members of the <a href="http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/">Congressional Progressive Caucus</a> attended the rally and urged President Obama to sign an executive order to ensure federal contract workers are paid a living wage. Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison tweeted:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We're going to demand that the Prez sign an executive order to make sure you're paid a #livingwage</blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3EP7FEA4gI5kAOtt4O9waOmmAyUuE-WLO8XI9zR4OflaRyOmS4yCJVjfdiO8T1XNYuxjC4H0wpu3I463TqCMeQSF7pu9Z4DXLUJ36pzNDSyujnVwLVSKWHPPIBywkNp0UtuNLpOyhtRx/s1600/keith+ellison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3EP7FEA4gI5kAOtt4O9waOmmAyUuE-WLO8XI9zR4OflaRyOmS4yCJVjfdiO8T1XNYuxjC4H0wpu3I463TqCMeQSF7pu9Z4DXLUJ36pzNDSyujnVwLVSKWHPPIBywkNp0UtuNLpOyhtRx/s320/keith+ellison.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellison speaks to strikers</td></tr></tbody></table>The protest comes at the same time as the release of a new <a href="http://www.nelp.org/page/-/Reports/NELP-Taking-Low-Road-Federal-Contracting.pdf?nocdn=1">report</a> by the<a href="http://nelp.org/"> National Employment Law Project</a> (NELP). The report details how the federal government is promoting poverty through its contracting practices. The paper notes that Americans are funding millions of low-wage jobs through federal contracts that keep places like the <a href="http://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institution</a> running and haul loads of cargo out of the Port of Charleston:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We interviewed a total of 567 workers in federally contracted jobs: 104 workers who<br />manufacture military uniforms in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico; 429 workers in Washington, D.C., who provide food service, retail services, or janitorial services in various buildings occupied or controlled by the federal government; and 34 port truckers who haul loads under federal contracts out of the port of Charleston, South Carolina.</blockquote>NELP calls for administrative action so that so many workers won't fall through the cracks. A poll done as part of the report shows that 74 percent of those employed under federal contract jobs earn less than $10 an hour. Only 26 percent receive sick days, and only 11 percent receive employer-provided health insurance. One in five depends on Medicaid for health care:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The federal government needs to lead by example as it once did and ensure that federally linked activity does not inadvertently subsidize low-road employment and fuel poverty, but instead supports the type of quality jobs that communities and our economy need to grow and thrive once more.</blockquote><a href="http://dcist.com/2013/07/union_station_workers_protest_low_p.php">DCist</a> just published a report on the strike, noting:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">They also <a href="https://twitter.com/keithellison/status/357859815701221376">chanted</a>, "We can't survive on 8.25," which is the minimum wage in the District of Columbia. As DCist previously <a href="http://dcist.com/2013/07/smithsonian_vendor_workers_walk_out.php">noted</a>, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's urban planning department's "living wage calculator" places the living wage for one adult in D.C. at $13.68 per hour.</blockquote>Stay tuned.