The California Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO, officially released an animated cartoon video on Tuesday, December 4, narrated by Ed Asner, that lays out the case for fair taxation. The union video urges Congress to repeal Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
CFT President Joshua Pechthalt:
Following the decisive victory of Prop 30 in California, this video promotes a fair tax system to fund America’s priorities. The best way to build a better American education system and protect the social safety net is by asking those who can most afford it to pay their fair share in taxes, so that educators will be better positioned to help our students achieve their dreams.
Tax the rich: An animated fairy tale, with animation by award-winning artist Mike Konopacki, was written and directed by yours truly. The eight-minute cartoon shows how we arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality.
» Read more about: "Tax the Rich" Video and Why Fox News Hates It »
It’s hard to define good leadership, but we all know it when we see it in action. Leaders we truly respect inspire us with their vision and feel trustworthy in both their personal and professional lives. They are smart strategists but also have a balanced sense of themselves – brilliant but not arrogant. And most important, they are able to genuinely connect with, and respect the people they aspire to lead.
In late November John Wilhelm, the highly regarded president of the national hotel workers’ union (UNITE-HERE), stepped down from his position at the age of 67 to make way for a new generation of leaders in his organization. During John’s tenure the union developed a deep bench of committed worker-leaders, organizers and strategists who he helped recruit and nurture over his 43 years with the organization. John populated this bench by sharing information, skills and decision-making with those he developed while expecting the highest standards of effectiveness and hard work.
After spending more than $1.6 billion, Tesco, the world’s third- largest food retailer, has finally thrown in the towel and announced the closure of its Fresh & Easy stores. This move brings closure to the British company’s effort to establish a foothold in California’s highly competitive grocery industry. Many analysts believe this decision has been a long time coming, with Fresh & Easy stores never seeing the kind of market penetration that the U.K.-based giant expected from the chain. Investors cheered the December 5 announcement, but U.S. workers have reason to celebrate too — this marks the end of a five-year struggle with Tesco.
Like most new entrants into the grocery market field, Tesco planned to operate non-union. Indeed, a Tesco employee-relations director described the primary responsibilities of that job in an advertisement as “maintaining non-union status” and “union avoidance activities.” The United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) sought to organize the company,
’Tis the season of miracles. There’s only enough oil to light the lamp for a couple of days, but it stays lit for eight. A peasant’s vision upsets a bishop, especially when the peasant returns with roses. Darkness grows until the earth shifts and the light returns. A child born in a stable turns out to be a presence of God. A festival celebrates the principles that make the miracle of human community. A star moves across the sky guiding astrologers on a quest.
These ancient tales and festivals, developed around the miracles of light and life, create the season’s themes of hope and love and peace. There are unsung miracles as well — happening in our own time that you will never read about in the papers or see on the nightly news. These stories tell about people without power claiming their strength and about the lowest-wage workers achieving victories.
Over the past year we’ve written quite a bit about the business of sports, and unfortunately, lockouts in the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) have given us quite a bit to discuss. We haven’t said much about things going on in the National Hockey League (NHL), perhaps because the script has come to seem so familiar, and there seemed little doubt that after some fireworks, things would finally result in a an unsatisfying deal that got everyone back on the ice a bit late, but in time for a meaningful season. Now it’s December, and they still ain’t playing.
Hockey’s labor history is a sorry one, as the league’s union was run for decades by a shill for the owners who stole money and helped the bosses keep the players in poverty well past the point you’d think that’d be true. In the ’90s, however, players started to make real money,
» Read more about: Hockey League Turmoil: Gary Bettman’s Ruler »
Here’s an arresting little statistic: Americans could create 200,000 jobs if we spent $64 out of the $700 that we will average for gifts this holiday season on American-made products. This fact comes from our friends at Labor 411, the group that puts together lists of union-made goods and services – everything from apparel to pet food to board games. And, just so you don’t think you’d have to stock up on $64 worth of Crayola Crayons to help create those 200,000 jobs, Labor 411 has put together a holiday shopping list that highlights a range of items, produced with union labor, including:
Check the list above for a complete inventory!
» Read more about: Buy Union-Made Gifts This Holiday Season »
I’m going to be frank – I’d do just about anything for a good union job. But as a twenty-something worker with limited job experience who’s been seeking permanent, full-time employment for nearly a year, I’d be willing to take just about any job.
But I’d really like a union job.
Not just for the job stability, solid wages and good benefits (don’t get me wrong, those are huge selling points), but because I want to be part of the historic and ground-breaking movement that’s responsible for creating, growing and maintaining America’s middle class.
As a member of a union household, I’ve experienced first-hand the benefits that unions can bring to young families like mine. But when I look around at my friends and others my age, it’s clear that my family is in the exceptionally fortunate minority. Most of our friends (regardless as to whether they have high school diplomas or law degrees) would bend over backwards to have the job security that my wife does.
“Want to avoid paying half of your employees’ Social Security tax? Reclassify them as ‘independent contractors’ so they pay it all themselves. Make them fill out a 1099. ‘That’s not a fulltime busboy, that’s Juan Co., LLC. Don’t forget to invoice us, Juan Co.’”
(John Stewart, The Daily Show, November, 2012)
As far back as 1989, a Government Accounting Office study found that 38 percent of the employers examined misclassified employees as independent contractors. As a labor lawyer for the past two decades, I’ve represented hundreds of bakery drivers who deliver and shelve bread and chips for grocery stores. In that industry, some companies use employees, some use independent contractors, and some use both, yet I have seen a steady shift away from employees. Why? By labeling workers “independent contractors,” bakeries (and grocery stores), like the Port of Los Angeles,
» Read more about: Corporate Magic: Turning Employees Into Contractors »
Thursday, December 6, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed two ordinances passed by the City Council approving the long-term purchase of solar power from a new development on tribal land in Nevada. The clean energy produced there will be enough to power more than 100,000 homes for 25 years.
The agreement is important here in Los Angeles, as the city moves away from coal and towards solutions like renewable energy and energy efficiency.
But we need more from our investments than clean energy alone. We need that investment to lift up communities that have been struggling in this economy. Thanks to the work of advocates over the years, some political leaders are embracing that connection.
“These solar contracts are proof-positive that environmental progress and economic growth go hand-in-hand,” Mayor Villaraigosa said Thursday. The signing ceremony took place at Occidental College, which is home to its own solar array.
» Read more about: Nevada Solar Project: Turning on the Sun for Clean Energy »