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03/2010 Labor's Edge Blog Articles
3/5/10
NUMMI Closing Highlights Need for U.S. Manufacturing Policy
by Tula Connell
Closing the New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. automotive plant in California will eliminate 25,000 jobs in the state and cost taxpayers $2.3 billion to replace the jobs lost, according to a March 3 report by University of California professor Harley Shaiken.
Jobs lost. Lives destroyed. Communities weakened. Billions of dollars down the drain. All because companies can only improve their bottom line by going after the cheaper labor they can find in other countries, right? Not so, writes Ralph Gomory, president emeritus, at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and former IBM senior vice-president of science and technology.
3/4/10
Arnold’s Furloughs Have Flopped, Hurt Workers, Businesses, and All Californians
by Bob Balgenorth
When the national recession battered California’s tax revenues and threw the state budget hugely out of balance, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to convince us that he could solve the problem with furloughs.
The plan has been a disaster. It hasn’t saved the state money. It has been a drag on the state and ultimately worsened the budget crisis. It’s disrupted state services, and, in turn, increasingly crippled the economy, slowed the recovery, and stopped job creation—especially in the construction field.
3/3/10
The High Cost of Closing Down the NUMMI Auto Plant
by Rebecca Greenberg
Twenty-five thousand jobs and $2.3 billion dollars. That’s what California stands to lose if Toyota follows through with its plan to shut down the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), plant in Fremont at the end of the month, according to a study released today by a Blue Ribbon Commission. The Commission, appointed by State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, was tasked with assessing the economic, social, and environmental costs of Toyota’s planned closure of the state’s only auto assembly plant.
3/2/10
The Time to March for California’s Future Is Now
by Marty Hittelman
It is no longer enough to say that "Sacramento politics is dysfunctional," or that the political and legislative processes in the Capitol are stymied by "partisan gridlock." These first impressions have some basis in reality but don't adequately address California's real problems.
What we need in public discussion is a clear picture of the problem and then a plan to fix it. And we all need a sign of hope that change will come. That's why, on March 5, we begin a "March for California's Future."
3/1/10
Colombia Trade Pact: Bad for Workers in California AND Colombia
by Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico
American workers benefit when their foreign counterparts in the labor movement have the power to enforce rules and to operate in a system that holds people accountable. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Colombia. Workers attempting to organize there lose more than their jobs. Many lose their lives.