How workers' freedom is getting chipped away

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6oylO2Q0QqUoae7yD0z0rhidaGPCClRl6CKAg-bzoDwPfri-NftKd-ecTFoEJ9x2ndAEwJ73Yjes15boQslii8ufg5LiowQwJF-Q9OBtSJ4GW9m8OmN6e2OkWyvuoS1N5NwjiNXHhHlD9/s1600/Infographic-Attack-On-American-Labor-Standards.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6oylO2Q0QqUoae7yD0z0rhidaGPCClRl6CKAg-bzoDwPfri-NftKd-ecTFoEJ9x2ndAEwJ73Yjes15boQslii8ufg5LiowQwJF-Q9OBtSJ4GW9m8OmN6e2OkWyvuoS1N5NwjiNXHhHlD9/s1600/Infographic-Attack-On-American-Labor-Standards.png" /></a></div>Our friends at the <a href="http://epi.org/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a> came up with this analysis of the attacks on workers' freedoms over the past two years. In dozens of states, workers' freedom is being undermined to take a sick day, to earn a decent living or to collect benefits they paid for.<br /><br />The war on workers is waged in states all over the country because of <a href="http://alec.org/" rel="nofollow">ALEC</a>, the corporate dating service for state lawmakers.<br /><br />EPI gives a good rundown of exactly how ALEC works:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">ALEC’s 2,000 member legislators include a large share of the country’s state senate presidents and house speakers. Legislators are invited to conferences—often at posh resorts—where committees composed of equal numbers of public and private officials draft proposals for model legislation. ALEC’s staff then drafts the legislative language and produces supporting policy reports. Thus state legislators with little time, staff, or expertise are able to introduce fully formed and professionally supported legislation. </blockquote>And this is what happens: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The corporations pay ALEC’s expenses, contribute to legislators’ campaigns, and fund the state-level think tanks that promote legislation; in return, legislators carry the corporate agenda into their statehouses. Over the past decade, ALEC’s leading corporate backers have contributed more than $370 million to state elections, and over 100 laws a year based on ALEC’s model bills have been adopted.</blockquote>Be very afraid. <br /><br /><br />

ALEC child labor minimum wage paid sick leave unemployment How workers' freedom is getting chipped away

Our friends at the Economic Policy Institute came up with this analysis of the attacks on workers' freedoms over the past two years. In dozens of states, workers' freedom is being undermined to take a sick day, to earn a decent living or to collect b…

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Today's Teamster News 09.03.13

<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/318795-five-reasons-for-optimism-about-unions-this-labor-day#ixzz2dDzjgGWO" rel="nofollow">Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day</a> (opinion) The Hill   ...most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 percent increase from the number in the same poll conducted two years earlier...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/02/workers-are-better-off-now-than-in-1894_n_3829698.html" rel="nofollow">9 Ways We're Better Off Now Than We Were On The First Labor Day (And 5 Ways We're Not)</a>  Huffington Post   ...The federal minimum wage, <a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/minimumwage.htm">which currently stands at 7.25 an hour</a>, is <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/raising-minimum-wage-to-9-not-enough-to-ensure-that-families-with-fulltime-workers-live-above-poverty-line">not enough to keep American families out of poverty</a>, according to the Center For Economic And Policy Research...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/union-busting-ended-my-lo_b_217015.html" rel="nofollow">Union Busting Ended My Love Affair with a Beer</a>  Huffington Post   ...Yuengling had illegally busted their union...<br /><a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/guest-commentary-labor-day-message-we-can-fix-this/article_407f64db-5bfd-5d60-b78d-e0d8ddb8f0a2.html" rel="nofollow">Labor Day message: We can fix this</a> (opinion)  NWI   ...We must embrace the new worker activism we see popping up at places like fast-food chains and retail establishments whose workers merely hope to raise their families on a livable wage...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-mccartin/labor-day-2013-religion-workers-rights_b_3854319.html" rel="nofollow">"What's Outrageous? Poverty Wages!" The Role of Religious Leaders in Worker Justice </a> Huffington Post   ...The faith leaders now rallying to support fast food workers' demands for a living wage are reviving one of America's oldest and most powerful arguments for social justice, one deeply rooted in religious ideals...<br /><a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/09/gdp-drag-from-state-and-local.html" rel="nofollow">GDP drag from State and Local Governments</a>  Calculated Risk   ...However state and local government spending has made a negative contribution for 13 of the last 14 quarters...<br /><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10631" rel="nofollow">Wall Street Eager to See Larry Summers Nominated Fed Chair </a> Real News   ...if you had to trace the collapse of the 2007-2009 financial crisis on one person--and, of course, you can't really trace it to one person--but if you did, I think you could make a fair argument that Larry Summers is more to blame for the financial crisis that we experienced than any other person...<br /><div><a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/making-too-big-to-fail-banks-help-poor-borrowers/" rel="nofollow">Making ‘Too Big To Fail’ Banks Help Poor Borrowers</a> (opinion)  The National Memo   ...Predatory lenders are folding fast in New York State, thanks to a savvy banking regulator who takes his duty to protect the public as seriously as his duties to the financial industry — and knows how to use the law to get quick action...<br /><div><a href="http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/09/01/director-of-dia-selling-art-tantamount-to-closing-museum/" rel="nofollow">DIA Director: Selling Art Tantamount To Closing Museum</a>  CBS Detroit   ...Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has stated that the some of the art could be sold as part of the city’s bankruptcy deal Beal says the art being considered as “assets” are those that were bought by Detroit between 1922 and 1931– that’s about 3,300 pieces...<br /><a href="http://www.plunderbund.com/2013/08/23/ohio-gop-grassroots-lead-to-billionaire/" rel="nofollow">Ohio GOP grassroots lead to billionaire</a>  Plunderbund   ...Americans for Prosperity. … That’s the right-wing outfit whose work is fashioned  by billionaire David Koch...<br /><br /></div></div>

banks Detroit bankruptcy Kochs Labor Day minimum wage tea party union-busting wages Today's Teamster News 09.03.13

Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day (opinion) The Hill   ...most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 …

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The 1963 March on Washington was about jobs -- and freedom

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhioKgbi1Oz0EoSaoEsoAiBNhyphenhyphenl7-UiXQJpUpHnrZhNbD7K1Z36YmZKNucdQ1x67VUI352zbOMd_CP_YzPGbtgKqaJeVwS8NgttXjrDUXeYXJqvtw6pYtnjKLkCGN-Q7xaH-mXnQlAbDB/s1600/March+on+Washington+Aug+63+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhioKgbi1Oz0EoSaoEsoAiBNhyphenhyphenl7-UiXQJpUpHnrZhNbD7K1Z36YmZKNucdQ1x67VUI352zbOMd_CP_YzPGbtgKqaJeVwS8NgttXjrDUXeYXJqvtw6pYtnjKLkCGN-Q7xaH-mXnQlAbDB/s400/March+on+Washington+Aug+63+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamsters head toward Washington in 1963.</td></tr></tbody></table>As the 50th anniversary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom" rel="nofollow">March on Washington</a> approaches, we should all remember that 300,000 people didn't just want equality. They wanted jobs, and good wages, and economic justice.<br /><br />They wanted the same things that low-wage workers are still fighting for today.<br /><br />Algernon Austin at the <a href="http://epi.org/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a> recently chronicled how far we still have to go to realize the dream of the March on Washington:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">March organizers demanded a minimum wage that could realistically be expected to lift a family out of poverty. Specifically, they demanded a minimum wage of $2.00 an hour (up from $1.15 an hour). We are nowhere near that goal today. Adjusting for inflation, that wage would be more than $13.00 an hour today, close to twice the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. In fact, the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage today is about $2.00 less than it was at its peak value in 1968 (Cooper and Hall 2013).</blockquote>Mark Vorpahl writing in <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/18094-the-august-24-march-on-washington-why-we-need-a-new-civil-rights-and-labor-movement#.Uga2QeX7p1s.facebook" rel="nofollow">truthout</a> notes the 1963 marchers also demanded a federal jobs program -- something not even contemplated today, though the unemployment rate is higher now than it was then.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The ten demands of the march included both calls for the "Withholding of Federal funds from all programs in which discrimination exists" and "Desegregation of all school districts in 1963." These were combined with "A massive federal program to train and place unemployed workers — Negro and white — on meaningful dignified jobs at decent wages" and "A national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living." </blockquote>Often overlooked is the fact that the 1963 March on Washington was organized by unions and by people close to the labor movement. A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was in charge of the organizing effort.<br /><br />Labor unions, including the Teamsters, are again supporting a March on Washington on August 24. The Labor Fightback Network urges you to participate:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Join the March on Washington August 24, 2013, to demand jobs and freedom for all; defend and expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; respect and protect workers’ rights; and restore and expand voting rights!</blockquote> Find out more <a href="http://www.laborfightback.org/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote>

March on Washington minimum wage protest The 1963 March on Washington was about jobs -- and freedom

Teamsters head toward Washington in 1963.As the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington approaches, we should all remember that 300,000 people didn't just want equality. They wanted jobs, and good wages, and economic justice.They wanted the same …

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Top 4 reasons why minimum wage jobs lead to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad life

The recent uproar over fast food and other minimum-wage workers has brought America’s attention to how much it sucks to be working at a minimum wage poverty job. Almost 3.6 million Americans are plugging away at dead-end, how-am-I-going to-pay-my-rent jobs – a figure that doesn’t count people making their state’s minimum wage (<a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm">disqualifying almost half the US population</a>). It also doesn't count any worker who gets a 15-cent raise as thanks for putting up with terrible wages, uncertain working hours and ugly uniforms for 6 months.<br /><br />Here's why minimum wage jobs lead to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad life:<br /><ol><li><b>You can’t afford anything, ever</b>. Contrary to whatever nonsense the restaurant industry is pushing out, three-quarters of minimum wage earners are adults – and <a href="http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2012tbls.htm#9">68.5 percent of those wage workers work full-time</a>. These terrible jobs aren’t used as fun money for carefree teens. Instead, most people try to pay for food and rent with their money -- but don’t pay enough to actually afford living. Even  a worker who works a full 40 hours every week with no vacations or sick leave brings home a yearly salary of $15,080, That's so little money <a href="http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/IRS-Tax-Return/Does-Everyone-Need-to-File-an-Income-Tax-Return-/INF14399.html">the IRS doesn’t even require you to file if you provide for a two-person household</a>. That’s right. Minimum wage workers are so broke, the IRS doesn’t even want their money.</li><li><b>You can either live with relatives or in a car.</b> Every year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that <a href="http://nlihc.org/oor/2013/">full-time minimum wage workers can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state</a>. Even working 70 hours a week, <a href="http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2013_OOR_Minimum_Wage_Map.pdf">a worker can only reasonably afford a two-bedroom apartment in four states and Puerto Rico</a>. Over half of the states require seven 12-hour days just to maintain affordable housing at minimum wage. Even split between two minimum wage workers at 45 hours a week, 17 states are too expensive to live in.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREqLLiV8no5cbkXrhviZ_8ue0Tttz01At5r4lqOH6p65f5L1yT_rsdxcUZ3Z_2yikN0Guuxhj4Hg4VPYjZDyuN6eBvKZWH8OavUNKki_zVK6k3JR5dI1erA1cWrPVrvC08bKiD9A4tCET/s1600/funny-Barbie-McDonalds-minimum-wage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREqLLiV8no5cbkXrhviZ_8ue0Tttz01At5r4lqOH6p65f5L1yT_rsdxcUZ3Z_2yikN0Guuxhj4Hg4VPYjZDyuN6eBvKZWH8OavUNKki_zVK6k3JR5dI1erA1cWrPVrvC08bKiD9A4tCET/s320/funny-Barbie-McDonalds-minimum-wage.jpg" width="173" /></a></div></li><li><b>Your healthcare plan consists of hoping you don’t get sick. </b>In 2012, a Gallup poll found <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/158417/poverty-comes-depression-illness.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=All%20Gallup%20Headlines">that low-income families are 20 percent more likely to not have health insurance or a doctor</a>. Almost 40 percent say they struggle to afford healthcare or medicine. No matter how little adults without children (three-quarters of minimum wage earners) make, they cannot enroll in federal Medicaid. The Affordable Care Act plans to expand Medicare in 2014 to people making $14,500 or less. Although this is a great step in expanding healthcare, it still means that people will have to start choosing between having enough money for rent or not enough money to qualify for Medicare. Making that choice is probably <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/10/30/americans-in-poverty-at-greater-risk-for-chronic-health-problems">why people living in poverty suffer from depression at twice the rates of higher paid workers</a>. It’s okay though – minimum wage workers won’t be able to afford a therapist to diagnose them anyway.</li><li><b>You are literally poorer than anyone else (since 1968). </b>The real cost of minimum wage has been decreasing since 1968. If wages rose with inflation, the federal minimum wage would be $10.56 per hour. In other words, when your parents flipped burgers at McDonalds, they were able to get 30 percent more for their money – <a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/min-wage1-2012-03.pdf">and probably did less than half the work</a>. But it’s not only you; <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/06/26/8-incredible-and-alarming-labor-force-statistics.aspx">all workers are suffering from wages depressed by inflation costs</a>. </li></ol>It can really stink to work in America. Maybe that’s why <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/">three-quarters of workers can’t afford to keep an emergency</a> fund.<ol></ol>

minimum wage poverty Top 4 reasons why minimum wage jobs lead to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad life

The recent uproar over fast food and other minimum-wage workers has brought America’s attention to how much it sucks to be working at a minimum wage poverty job. Almost 3.6 million Americans are plugging away at dead-end, how-am-I-going to-pay-my-…

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