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Labor's Edge Blog Articles
5/25/10
California Is Not Like Greece; Greece Is Like California
by David Dayen
By now, political observers have grown tired of the facile comparisons between the United States and Greece (they have a debt; we have a debt; exactly the same!). And that comparison is even more pronounced here in California, where I think it was part of the job description for our half-dozen remaining columnists to draw a parallel between the state’s budget woes and that of the European nation. Of course, these played out along the familiar lines (for high Broderist columnists) of “runaway spending” and “overwhelming debt.”
Now, it’s not going to surprise anyone that these columnists know nothing about Greece. Because if you actually study what got them into their debt problems, you’d find that spending is a lesser concern. The Center for American Progress report on Greece shows that their problems are more on the revenue side of the equation.
5/21/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of May 17th
* Whitman uses bogus fraud claims to attack workers, seniors and the disabled * Schwarzenegger's slash-and-burn budget stymies job growth *
* Legislative Analyst's Office opposes Governor's plan to eliminate CalWorks * Senate passes Wall Street reform bill * Tesla and Toyota team up to re-open NUMMI auto plant *
5/20/10
Stop the Cuts, Close the Loopholes!
by Sara Flocks
California was once the envy of the country for our top-notch schools and universities, infrastructure and quality of life. Now California may become the only state in the nation to completely eliminate welfare-to-work assistance and job training for low-income families and their children.
The Governor’s May revision to the state budget proposes $17.9 billion in cuts to state programs, including eliminating welfare-to-work. Over the last two years, state programs have been slashed by $32.5 billion—and there is no relief in sight from this Governor.
5/20/10
Mine Workers at Rio Tinto Break 15-Week Lockout
by Craig Merrilees
On May 15th, 570 families at Rio Tinto’s massive mine in Boron, CA won their hard-fought struggle to break a 15-week lockout and protect good jobs. By a 75% margin, ILWU Local 30 members approved a new contract with guaranteed raises, a $5,000 bonus, protection for full-time jobs, retention of seniority, and removal of all scabs from their workplace.
5/18/10
Whitman Uses Bogus Claims of Fraud to Attack Workers, Seniors and People with Disabilities
By Steve Smith
Looks like desperation is beginning to set in over at Team Whitman headquarters. Monday in Roseville, Meg Whitman told a small audience that she would appoint a grand jury to root out the more than $7.5 billion in fraud she claims occurs annually in programs for the poor, seniors and people with disabilities. Tough talk. Just one problem, those numbers have absolutely no basis in reality.
5/18/10
California Education Advocates take up the CAUSE to Stop Governor’s Cuts
by Steve Smith
California schools, colleges and universities have been ravaged in recent years by deep budget cuts that threaten to destroy public education in our state. Over the last two years alone, Governor Schwarzenegger has slashed more than $17 billion from our state’s schools, which are already drastically underfunded. And with the release of his May Revise of the state budget last week, the Governor proposed additional cuts to education that would jeopardize the futures of millions of students statewide.
5/14/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of May 10th
* Budget revise targets most vulnerable Californians * Schwarzenegger ignores plight of injured workers *
* Corporate accountability bills move forward * Locked out mine workers reach tentative agreement with Rio Tinto * Wal-Mart workers win multi-million dollar victory *
5/14/10
Prop G Stands for Ground Zero in Chula Vista
by Lorena Gonzalez
If passed by voters, Proposition G would ban the City of Chula Vista from funding or contracting on any public works or construction project that
included a project labor agreement, used union construction workers, or included prevailing wage requirements.
To California’s Labor movement, the fight over Proposition G is about more than the impacts on one city. For the first time that anyone can recall, a city’s voters are being asked whether they should ban a group of workers who live, pay taxes and are part of that city’s community from working on public works projects just because they joined a union. It’s wrong and it’s dangerous for our workers.
5/13/10
California Wal-Mart Workers Win Settlement Over Wage Violations
by Rachel Johnson
Wal-Mart has been under fire for years for its shoddy treatment of its employees. In 2006, California Wal-Mart workers decided they’d had enough, taking the fiercely anti-union retail giant to court for failing to pay overtime, vacation and other wages. Yesterday, Wal-Mart ended the lawsuit by agreeing to settle a class action lawsuit and pay up to $86 million to 232,000 affected employees.
5/12/10
Going Gaga Over Workers’ Rights
Lady Gaga recently made an unexpected appearance at the Westin Saint Francis hotel in San Francisco—in the form of a flash mob singing a pro-worker version of lyrics to her “Bad Romance.” Replete with tuba, trombone, snare drum and a couple dozen dancing activists, the group materialized in the hotel’s lobby to denounce the chain’s poor treatment of its employees and urge people to “Boycott, boycott,” this “bad, bad hotel.”
5/11/10
For Air and Rail Workers, New NMB Rule Means ‘Democracy’
by Mike Hall
A new rule issued yesterday by the National Mediation Board (NMB) means airline and rail workers will now be able to choose whether to join a union under rules that are more fair and more in line with democratic principles.
For decades, the deck has been stacked against workers covered under the Rail Labor Act (RLA) because every worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote. The new NMB rule says that an election’s outcome will be decided by the majority of votes cast, just like every other election, from city council to the presidency.
5/10/10
Mercury Insurance’s Prop 17 Would Hit California Workers Hard
by Naomi Seligman
When was the last time an insurance company spent millions to save you money? The answer? Never.
Mercury Insurance, the sole sponsor of Proposition 17, on the June ballot, has already spent over $7 million in its effort to give insurance companies the power to raise rates on millions of responsible Californians.
This deceptively written initiative allows insurance companies to surcharge people who have not been previously insured – even if they are perfect drivers but weren't insured because they weren't driving or didn’t own a car. Prop 17 also penalizes anyone who had to drop coverage for more than 90 days over the last five years, or missed a single insurance payment.
5/7/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of May 3rd
* Bill to hold telecommunications companies accountable dies in committee * Payday lending industry directs borrowers to oppose reform that would help them * Public Utilities Commission votes to send green construction jobs out of state *
* New bill would close commercial property tax loophole * Senator Boxer champions amendment to ban bank bailouts * Study disproves myth about public employee income *
5/7/10
Union Members Ramp Up Worksite Informational Blitz to Expose Whitman’s Wall Street Agenda
by Steve Smith
In an increasingly impersonal political campaign environment saturated with slick TV ads and radio spots, many working families have difficulty 
discerning the truth from campaign spin... unless they’re union members.
Yesterday in Sacramento, union members with the Communications Workers of America Local 9421 passed out flyers and engaged their fellow workers at AT&T in discussion about this year’s elections during lunchtime as workers filed in and out of the busy AT&T building.