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04/2010 Labor's Edge Blog Articles
4/12/10
Manufacturing Tomorrow’s Economy
by Sharon Cornu and Cindy Chavez
When the General Motors factory in Fremont closed in 1982, Debbie Williams grieved with her brothers and sisters in the United Auto Workers. The daughter of GM's first African American electrician at Oakland's Eastmont Fisher Body Plant, she had been through prior plant closings - and re-openings.
Now the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant - known as Nummi - is closed, too, despite producing cars that led the J.D. Power quality ratings with zero defects. Beyond its immediate economic impact, Nummi's April 1 closure poses a larger threat - the dissipation of a manufacturing sector anchored in the Bay Area and critical to the future economic success of the region and the nation.
4/9/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of April 5th, 2010
* Assemblymember Knight proposes incentives to hire out-of-state workers * Meg"Wall Street" Whitman releases "Don't Tax the Rich" economic plan * Fatal explosion at West Virginia mine could have been prevented by employer *
* Bill to protect jobless benefits from greedy banks moves forward * California one step closer to manufacturing high-speed rail cars in state * Committee shoots down right-wing scheme to help employers skirt regulations *
4/8/10
Marcher Irene Gonzalez Revisits Childhood in Atwater & Livingston
Update from the March for California's Future
By Willie Pelote
Los Angeles probation officer and Central Vally émigré Irene Gonzalez revisited parts of her childhood when the March for California’s Future reached Atwater and Livingston this past weekend.
As a child, Gonzalez cycled between various foster homes in the Central Valley before finding a permanent home in the town of Atwater. Her foster parents also ran a flower shop in Livingston called Rose’s Flowers, which has long since disappeared, another casualty on the long list of small businesses that have fallen victim to the practice of subsidizing the operations of large companies like Wal-Mart through unnecessary tax credits.
4/7/10
Why is Bank of America Not Paying Any Taxes on $4.4 Billion in Income?
by Sara Flocks
Around this time every year, Californians scramble to finish doing their taxes and pay what they owe to the government.
But not everyone is paying their fair share. Forbes Magazine recently analyzed the tax returns of the top 25 U.S. companies and found out that they’re not paying much in taxes. In fact, corporations such as Bank of America, General Electric and Citigroup will not be paying ANY taxes this year --- they’re actually getting money back from the government.
4/6/10
Union Member Coordinates Workshops to Help Furloughed State Employees Keep Their Homes
by Jim Zamora
Claudia Gambaro often looks for ways to help fellow state workers, but she never predicted she would become her union's expert in helping them avoid foreclosure. But when the housing crisis hit Gambaro and tens of thousands of state employees, she wanted to help herself and others keep their homes.
Gambaro was able to pair her union, SEIU Local 1000, with Hope Against Hope, a Sacramento non-profit that helps financially challenged home owners, including those who owe more than their houses are worth. Since last fall, SEIU Local 1000 helped Gambaro organize more than a dozen homeowner counseling workshops, reaching more than 1,000 state workers all over California.
4/5/10
What’s Wrong With California’s Economic Development Plan?
by Angie Wei
If a business wants to contact someone in state government to bring jobs to California, where would they start? The answer is a lot more complicated than you might think. The Trade and Commerce Agency used to be the de facto point of entry for employers to state government, but it was dismantled in 2003, and now there are over 100 separate economic development plans among more than a dozen state government agencies.
This disaster known as California’s economic development plan is what inspired the California Labor Federation to sponsor SB 1259 (DeSaulnier) which would create a cabinet-level Office of Economic Development and Job Creation to streamline and focus the state’s economic development activities.
4/2/10
California High-Speed Rail Could Mean 600,000 New Jobs, Less Pollution and a Better Commute
Imagine a new project that would create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce traffic, all at the same time. Imagine getting from San Francisco to LA in just 2.5 hours, without the hassle of sitting traffic or dealing with airport security. Now stop imagining, because all that is about to become reality in California, as we begin development of the all-new high-speed rail.