Rebecca Greenberg Band
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Labor's Edge Articles by Rebecca Band
10/27/10
Vote—All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
by Rebecca Greenberg
We come from all walks of life. Some of us are students, some are workers, and some are jobless. Some of us are laden with student debt. Some of us work to support our children, some work to support our parents. Some of us have had to postpone starting a family, and some of us have had to move back in with our parents just to make ends meet. But we all have one thing in common -- we are the young voters of California. And it’s time for us to flex our muscle at the polls, take control of California’s future and fight off the right wing’s attempt at a hostile corporate takeover of our state.
9/29/10
Jerry Brown Shows Meg Whitman How It’s Done at the First Gubernatorial Debate
by Rebecca Greenberg
There’s no doubt that Jerry Brown came out on top after the first gubernatorial debate last night at UC Davis. According to a SurveyUSA/CBS poll conducted last night just after the debate (as reported by CBS’ Doug Sovern on Twitter), 53% say they will vote for Brown, 38% for Meg.
Those figures come as no surprise. Throughout the course of the debate, Brown was warm, thoughtful, intelligent and even funny at times, while Whitman was cold, scripted and over-rehearsed, and her attempted jokes flopped with the audience. But more notably, Brown laid out a clear and executable game plan to create jobs and get California back on track, while Whitman completely failed to offer any real insight as to how she would implement all of her unrealistic policy proposals.
8/31/10
Top Five Reasons Carly Fiorina “No Es Mi Amiga”
Much like her CEO pal Meg “Wall Street” Whitman, GOP Senate candidate “Corporate” Carly Fiorina has been pretending to be a friend to Latinos as of late, in a cynical ploy to garner votes.
But the more Latinos learn about the real Carly, the less they like. The fact is, Fiorina’s positions on the issues that Latinos care most about, like immigration, jobs, education and health care, put her in direct opposition to Latino values and California values.
8/26/10
Assembly Approves Resolution to Oppose Colombia Free Trade Agreement
by Rebecca Greenberg
Over the last 20 years, at least 2,754 union workers in Colombia have been murdered, simply for exercising their right to organize, bargain collectively and, if necessary, strike. In 2009, 48 Colombian union workers were killed, and 29 have already been murdered this year.
Today, California state legislators took action to block former President Geroge's W. Bush's trade agreement with Colombia by voting to approve Assembly Joint Resolution 27, sponsored by Assemblymember Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont), which urges the U.S. Congress to oppose the Colombia Free Trade agreement.
8/17/10
Meg Whitman Loves Latinos… Except When She Doesn’t
by Rebecca Greenberg
Where does Meg Whitman stand on immigration? Well, that all depends on when she’s being asked, where she’s being asked, and who is doing the asking.
By our count, Whitman has changed her position on immigration at least five times since announcing her candidacy. And in her cynical ploy to mask her true positions, Whitman managed to alienate both the left and the right… and certainly isn’t making a case to Latinos. A recent poll shows that Jerry Brown still has a commanding lead among Latinos -- 42 percent for Brown compared to just 18 percent for Whitman.
8/3/10
PG&E Engineers Get the Word Out At Work About Whitman’s Wall Street Agenda
by Rebecca Greenberg
On Monday, a small but dedicated group of PG&E engineers and scientists (who are members of IFPTE-ESC Local 20) stuck around after work
to talk with their co-workers one-on-one about the upcoming election and provide educational materials on Meg Whitman’s history of outsourcing jobs, as well as Jerry Brown’s strong track record on job creation.
This worksite outreach effort is one of hundreds happening around the state. More than 250,000 flyers are being distributed at union worksites throughout California this week, and hundreds of thousands more will be distributed by Election Day. Our goal is to reach out to a million union members at work between now and November. We may be outspent, but we will never be out-organized.
6/18/10
Workers Take a Stand Against Wall Street-Big Oil Takeover at Whitman/Blakeslee Fundraiser
by Rebecca Greenberg
Last night, Meg “Wall Street” Whitman teamed up with SD 15 GOP candidate Sam “The Oil Man” Blakeslee for a ritzy Silicon Valley garden reception and fundraiser. Blakeslee, a former Exxon executive who is bought and paid for by the Big Oil interests that want to drill off California’s coast, was trying to squeeze out some last-minute campaign cash before Tuesday’s special election, when he'll face off against labor-endorsed candidate and champion for working families, John Laird.
The idea of Big Oil and Wall Street coming together in an effort to wage a hostile corporate takeover of our state was too unnerving for some South Bay workers, who protested outside the fundraiser in Los Gatos with signs and chants, saying “Sam and Meg, you shall fail – California is not for sale!”
6/4/10
Where Workforce Partnerships and Job Recovery Converge
by Rebecca Greenberg
Imagine labor, business and government representatives all working together towards a common goal -- to develop a sustainable, clean energy economy that will create quality green jobs while simultaneously alleviating our dependence of fossil fuels. If this sounds unlikely to you, then you’ve obviously never been to our ‘Building Workforce Partnerships’ conference.
6/3/10
‘Building Workforce Partnerships’ Conference: Q and A with Robert Kuttner
by Rebecca Greenberg
We had the opportunity to sit down with Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect and a senior fellow at Demos, at the 'Building Workforce Partnerships' conference. Kuttner's latest book is A Presidency in Peril: The Inside Story of Obama's Promise, Wall Street's Power, and the Struggle to Control our Economic Future.
6/2/10
‘Building Workforce Partnerships’ Conference Focuses on Jobs Recovery
by Rebecca Greenberg
Today, more than 500 labor leaders, local and state policy makers, community advocates, environmentalists, educators, and job training and economic development professionals came together in San Diego for the annual ‘Building Workforce Partnerships’ Conference, The two-day conference presents a unique opportunity for this diverse group to collectively develop comprehensive strategies to help us restore our economy, revitalize job growth and reduce our carbon footprint, all at the same time.