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Labor's Edge Articles by Steve Smith
4/17/12
Patriotic Millionaire Joins Seniors and Workers to Blast Ryan/Lungren Budget Plan
by Steve Smith
Under Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) federal budget plan, each millionaire would receive a tax cut of about $187,000. And when it comes to Ryan and his GOP cronies in Congress like Rep. Dan Lungren, that fat tax giveaway to the wealthy comes at a cost. Unfortunately, Ryan and Lungren want our nation’s seniors to absorb that cost through draconian cuts to Medicare.
Today in Sacramento, seniors and workers affiliated with the Sacramento Central Labor Council had an unlikely ally in their fight for tax fairness and against the Ryan budget: millionaire David Watson. Watson, who’s a member of the group Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, stood with seniors on Tax Day to denounce the Ryan budget plan and the unfair tax system we currently have which rewards the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the middle class.
4/2/12
Governor, High-Speed Rail Authority Set Bold Course Forward with New High-Speed Rail Plan
by Steve Smith
The new high-speed rail business plan sums it up pretty well in the first three words: Better. Faster. Cheaper.
Under Gov. Brown’s direction, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has made key improvements to previous plans, bringing us one step closer to making the vision of high-speed rail – and all its benefits to our economy and environment – a reality.
The new business plan addresses two of the biggest challenges for high-speed rail head on: cost and viability. Through the use of existing commuter lines and other cost-saving measures, the new plan shaves a whopping $30 billion off the overall cost of the project. In addition, the new plan connects the Central Valley with the Los Angeles basin in the first phase of the project, which will increase ridership early on.
3/27/12
The Hypocrisy of Allan Mansoor on Campaign Finance Reform
by Steve Smith
Assemblymember Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa), elected in 2010, has so far made a career out of demonizing workers and attacking workers’ rights. From collective bargaining to pensions, Mansoor never saw a cherished worker right he didn’t hate. Last year, he even took time to honor anti-union Midwest legislators, whom he calls “courageous” and with whom he stands “in solidarity.”
It’s not surprising, then, that he’s become something of a shill for the campaign to silence workers’ political voice through this fall’s corporate power grab initiative. According to the Pacifica Institute, Mansoor vocally supports the measure, which proponents deceptively call the “Stop Special Interest Money Now Act,” arguing that it will limit “the influence of special interest money.” (Of course nothing could be further from the truth. It’s nothing other than a muzzle on workers that will make our system even more corrupt, but more on that later.)
3/26/12
Bay Area Workers Call for Romney Advisor’s Resignation, Protest Mitt’s Anti-Worker Positions
by Steve Smith
Mitt Romney’s “Multi-millionaire Express” is coming to Redwood City tonight for a high-dollar fundraiser with the likes of failed gubernatorial candidate Meg “Wall Street” Whitman. But it may not be all champagne wishes and caviar dreams for Mitt and his rich buddies tonight as the controversy involving one of his campaign’s key advisors continues to grow.
The Inspector General issued a report Friday finding that National Labor Relations Board member Terence Flynn improperly leaked confidential material on board deliberations. The report details numerous instances of then-chief counsel Flynn funneling confidential information about the labor board’s activities and deliberations to two former NLRB members who have been actively engaged in a relentless campaign to undermine and discredit the NLRB through legal and rhetorical challenges to the agency’s activities. One of those former board members is Romney advisor Peter Schaumber.
3/22/12
California Assembly Joins Growing Movement to Overturn Citizens United
by Steve Smith
Score one for REAL campaign finance reform.
Today the California State Assembly, with support from the California Labor Federation, Common Cause and many other labor and good government groups, joined the growing chorus nationwide to overturn the Citizens United decision.
By a vote of 48-22 the Assembly passed AJR 22, co-authored by Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) and Michael Allen (D-Sonoma County), which calls on Congress to overturn the outrageous Citizens United decision. Citizens United is fueling an unprecedented growth of corporate money in politics that, if allowed to continue, threatens the fabric of our democracy.
3/20/12
California Labor Launches “Invest in California” Jobs Plan for the 99%
by Steve Smith
California was built with a vision that prioritized investments in our future. From creating a world-class infrastructure to seeding innovation through our schools and universities, investments fueled the economic miracle that once was our state. But as those investments dried up in recent years, we’ve risked tearing the very fabric of California.
It’s time to chart a different course.
Today, the California Labor Federation and the State Building and Construction Trades Council unveiled Labor’s new “Invest in California” jobs plan, which focuses on renewing the state’s commitment to innovation and investments that built an economy of broadly shared prosperity.
1/5/12
Efforts to Derail Bullet Train Driven by Politics as Usual
by Steve Smith
Among the big political news this week was the release of the Legislative Peer Review Group’s report on the California high-speed rail project. The report recommends that the state freezes the project “at this time” until further assessment is done on its long-term feasibility. Problem is, the report was completed with minimal consultation with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and ignored many of the details on feasibility included in the Authority’s recent business plan.
Opponents seized on the erroneous report to further their campaign to derail the project. While it might make good politics for some conservatives to oppose a signature program of the Obama White House, it certainly doesn’t make for good policy.
12/6/11
305,000 Californians to Lose Unemployment Insurance Lifeline if Congress Fails to Act by January 1
by Steve Smith
A new report released today by the AFL-CIO shows that more than 305,000 Californians will lose their unemployment benefits on December 31 if Congress fails to act to extend unemployment insurance. .
In California as well as across the country, jobless workers and their communities will be holding actions Thursday to call attention to the ongoing jobs crisis and to urge Congress to take immediate action to extend unemployment benefits. In Sacramento, hundreds of jobless workers will march to Rep. Dan Lungren’s office to call him to support an extension of benefits.
11/1/11
Release of Business Plan Puts High-Speed Rail Back on Track
by Steve Smith
There’s no question that it’s been a difficult path forward for California’s high-speed rail project. Given how ambitious the plan is, even the project’s strongest supporters would tell you that the promise of high-speed rail wouldn’t come easy. For months, critics have – often unfairly – assailed the project for being unrealistic and lacking transparency. Today, those critics were silenced with the release of a realistic business plan that lay bare the challenges and costs moving forward, but also underscored the critical importance of the project to our state’s future.
10/31/11
Students, Workers Rally at Cosumnes River College for Jobs
by Steve Smith
Like many college students, Tanya Reyes is doing what she can to try to build a better future for herself. Every weekday, she makes the 1 ½ hour drive from her home to Cosumnes River College to pursue a college education. But over the last year, the class offerings have become slimmer. Educators have been let go. The economic outlook has become even gloomier, making her wonder what opportunities await her after college.
She, like hundreds of others at an “America Wants to Work” rally at the college last week, is becoming increasingly frustrated with the GOP obstructionism on the President’s jobs plan. The American Jobs Act could put hundreds of thousands of people to work right away, alleviate the devastating cuts to her college and so many others, and spur economic growth so that she could look at the future with a sense of optimism.