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03/2010 Labor's Edge Blog Articles
3/31/10
Ten Facts You Should Know About California’s Unemployment Insurance Program
by Angie Wei
California's unemployment insurance program is our state’s frontline defense for our state’s economic recovery. Every day, Claifornia's Employment Development Department (EDD) pays out, on average, $80 million in unemployment insurance checks, and over 1.4 million laid off Californians depend on these UI benefits to get by.
With unemployment at 12.5%, EDD’s infrastructure is falling apart. Laid off workers must call dozens of times before they can get through on the phone lines. No one at EDD”s one-stop offices can help with unemployment insurance claims. And despite the high need for services, the Governor has failed to appoint a leader to the EDD.
3/30/10
Fighting for Good Green Jobs at Our Ports
by Rome Aloise
It is often said that the ports are where old trucks go to die. Dirty, out-dated rigs move cargo that our nation depends on to keep our economy going, spewing toxic diesel emissions that are known to cause cancer and asthma. And why does this happen? Port trucking companies operate like it’s the “Wild West” -- there are few rules, and their workers are exploited. In a recent The New York Times article, a top Port of Los Angeles official dismissed the notion of our trade hubs as examples of perfect, free-market economics, and instead described it as a model of “cavemen economics.”
3/29/10
Keeping Jobs in California, Not China
by Tim Robertson
A new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has outlined our trade problems with China, the biggest trade cheater on the international scene to a stark reality. Between 2001 and 2007, the increasing U.S. trade deficit with China has cost Americans 2.3 million jobs.
This includes nearly 370,000 in California alone, a staggering 2.23% of the employment force. We need to fix the broken free trade system that allows countries like China to bend the rules to their own advantage.
3/27/10
Orange County Workers Unite Against Big Banks and Wall Street Greed
by Priscilla Luviano
Over a hundred angry working men and women marched outside Bank of American and JP Morgan Chase in Santa Ana on Thursday, to demand that Wall Steet banks do their fair share to help restore and rebuild our economy.
Orange County Labor Federation President Rick Eiden and Orange County Employees Assocation General Manager Nick Berardino stormed inside Bank of America in Santa Ana to tell management how their members are without work and have lost their homes because of the actions of their financial institution.
3/26/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of March 22nd
* Toyota stops manufacturing at NUMMI * Schwarzenegger vetoes more worker-friendly bills * Sen. Coburn blocks jobless benefits for unemployed workers *
* Historic health care reform bill signed into law * Judge rules Governor's special-fund furloughs are illegal * Essential unemployment insurance bill moves forward * Legislative recess begins today *
3/25/10
It’s Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay
by Dick Meister
Although the global recession has had a serious impact on working men and women alike, two new reports make clear that women in the United States and throughout the world have suffered most because of long-standing discrimination.
Though they're usually doing essentially the same work as men, or the equivalent of it, women earn 30 to 40 percent less than the men internationally. The gap is narrower within the United States, but even so, U.S. women average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
3/24/10
California Working Families Out in Force to ‘Make Wall Street Pay’
by Rachel Johnson
The nationwide grassroots campaign to make Wall Street pay to help rebuild our economy is on full display in California this week, as working families gather outside big Wall Street banks in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego and Orange County. Hundreds of working people are taking part in the protests statewide, along with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, who will be speaking at the Bank of America action in San Diego on Friday.
3/23/10
My Feet are Tired, but My Dream for California’s Future is Strong
Update from the March for California's Future
by Anna Graves
It's a 350-mile march from Bakersfield to Sacramento if you stop in the small towns along the Highway 99 corridor. I'm a retired teacher and clinical social worker making that march with other teachers and public service workers to sound an alarm in the heartland of this state that the California dream of opportunity and the good life is fading. We're in the second week of our 48-day trek, and my feet are showing the wear. But though I'm tired, my spirit is soaring with the warm reception we are receiving in the San Joaquin Valley.
3/22/10
State Plans to Spend Millions to Photograph In-Home Supportive Service Consumers
by Steve Mehlman
Without any authority from the Legislature, the Schwarzenegger Administration is planning to purchase up to $5 million worth of military/security cameras to take pictures of the 450,000 seniors and people with disabilities who receive In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) homecare.
3/22/10
House Approves Historic Health Care Reform
by Mike Hall
In a historic vote more than 60 years in the making, the U.S. House of Representatives late Sunday night voted to approve (220-211) what AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls a ”momentous step toward comprehensive health care.”
The bill survived a $100 million lie-and-distortion campaign by Big Insurance to kill it—the same kind of tactics these groups have aimed at health care proposals for six decades. Trumka says the bill is not “a baby step or half measure,” but a solid step forward to set our country on a path to health care that actually works for working families.
3/19/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of March 15th
* Schwarzenegger protects tax cheats instead of providing tax relief to working families * Census data proves Meg Whitman wrong on public employees * Toyota NUMMI severence agreement includes gag order *
* CBO finds health care reform bill would cut deficit by more than a trillion dollars * Assemblymember Sandre Swanson regains Labor Committee chairmanship * Retirees honor advocate Bill Powers *
3/18/10
Health Care Reform: The Home Stretch
by Patrick Romano
After nearly two years, we are finally approaching the finish line on health care reform, and the pace is moving quickly in DC. Just this morning, the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the bill, which found that the bill will cut the deficit by $1.3 trillion (yes, trillion) over the next 20 years, and would cover 32 million Americans, or 95 percent of the population.
Also this morning, the complete reconciliation bill language was posted online, bringing us one step closer to a House vote on the bill. The next step is for the bill to go to the House Rules Committee, where the “mark-up” of the bill will begin immediately. The House is gearing up for a floor vote on Sunday.
3/18/10
Workers Confront Disney Executives at Annual Shareholder Meeting
By Jorge Iniestra
It's not often that we – the workers – have the opportunity to address corporate executives directly. In fact, we weren't sure if they were even aware of the injustices that are taking place at the three Disney hotels in Anaheim. So, instead of allowing this doubt to linger in our minds, we made sure that the highest-ranking Disney executives know about this two-year long struggle that has overshadowed all the "magic” at Disneyland.
3/17/10
Arnold Protects Tax Cheats, Refuses Tax Relief for Struggling Families
By Sara Flocks
At a time when California is facing yet another budget crisis, you’d think Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would want to crack down on tax cheats, especially if it meant that families and businesses would receive some tax relief as a result.
Think again.
This week, the Governor said he would not sign a bill passed by the Legislature to give tax relief to struggling homeowners and renewable energy companies because the bill would also increase the penalty on multi-million dollar corporations and the wealthiest Californians who blatantly cheat on their taxes.