Jun
2012 11
2012 11
Hey POLITICO, What the F*** Is That Headline? (Part 2)
Roughly one year ago we published a piece, “Hey POLITICO, What the F*** Is That Headline?” which assailed the presumably party-neutral site for a story claiming Mitt Romney “praised” labor despite his remarks centering on “union bosses” and “union CEOs.” It was a journalistic hatchet job of the most…
May
2012 29
2012 29
First Wisconsin Recall Debate Yields Talking Points for Barrett, Backpedaling from Walker
One week from now, on June 5th, the long awaited Wisconsin recall election will take place and cheeseheads the state over will have their say on whether or not they want to continue in the same direction or remove Scott Walker from the Governor’s Mansion. If such a change is affected, it could act as …
May
2012 22
2012 22
“Dangerous road conditions were a significant factor in 1/3 of all traffic fatalities last year, and Americans spent 4.2 billion hours stuck in traffic.”
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) recently took to The Hill‘s Congress Blog to call attention to the “need to nation build at home.” In the post, Higgins stresses the importance of infrastructure investments: A $1.2 trillion investment in rebuilding American roads, bridges, transit and water systems would create 27 million jobs over the…
May
2012 22
2012 22
“Perhaps Overreach or Overlook would be a more fitting committee for Issa to chair.”
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is an identifiable example of the hostage-based politics that has marred Congress since the 2010 mid-term elections. As Chairman of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Issa holds an important role in keeping Congress accountable. Yet, despite the seriousness of his title, Issa has used much of his time to coordinate …
May
2012 18
2012 18
VIDEO: Union Members, Open Shop Supporters Issue Public Comments in Meridien, CT PLA Debate
The debate over whether or not to use a Project Labor Agreements on a $250 million Meridien, Connecticut school project has been raging for months, but it appears that it will finally be settled next Monday night. Two months ago, 1500 people turned out in favor of the PLA and last night public comments were …
May
2012 16
2012 16
Walker’s Billionaire “Divide and Conquer” Backer, Diane Hendricks, Isn’t Paying State Corporate Taxes
It seems the billionaire Scott Walker-backer with whom the Governor shared his “divide and conquer” strategy toward unions can give $500,000 to her favorite anti-worker puppet despite not paying a cent in state corporate income tax between the years of 2005 and 2008, the most recent years with records to show. Diane Hendricks, the…
May
2012 14
2012 14
Labor Professor: In Pennsylvania, “Union Busting Won’t Help…”
The story of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett begins with Pennsylvania unions being busted and ends with privatization in the name of “tax relief.” While the state’s money woes could easily be solved by higher taxation on corporations, Corbett is taking pages out of the American For Prosperity/ALEC playbook and demonizing…
May
2012 7
2012 7
WaPo: VA GOP Holding Up Dulles Metrorail “Just to Stick It to Labor Unions and their Democratic Allies.”
Never is the partisanship of politics more rampant than in an election year, but what has been taking place in Virginia over the Dulles Metrorail extension (get background from our previous pieces here, here, here, here and here) could make even the most extreme gridlock artist tear up. The Washington Post‘s Steve Pearlstein penned a …
May
2012 4
2012 4
“So far this year, shareholders at five companies have voted against CEO pay packages.”
After Citigroup shareholders gave a vote of no confidence to the $15 million pay package of CEO Vikram Pandit, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard W. Bloomingdale pointed out that the public is quickly tiring of the runaway pay of CEOs in an opinion piece for the Allentown Morning-Call. Trumka and…
Apr
2012 30
2012 30
A Moving Tribute to New York Building Trades Members Who Died in 2011
In a recent piece, “A Family in Mourning,” Bill Hohlfeld describes a moving tribute to New York Building Trades members who died in 2011. It was held last Tuesday at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Speaking of the “extended family” that is the building trades industry, Hohlberg describes how members of…
Apr
2012 26
2012 26
“Chances are at least one of your neighbors belongs to a union. Their kids play on your kids’ Little League team. They do charity work and volunteer. They attend your church.”
Delaware State Senator Michael P. Mulrooney’s op-ed,…
Apr
2012 19
2012 19
Zero Hedge: “Number of people not in the labor force is now at an all time high.”
As candidates use charts and numbers to prove their points about unemployment during the election season, some observers are noting that many may look upside down compared to those using some more logical numbers. “If you’re looking strictly at a chart of the “official” unemployment rate,” ZeroHedge.com says,…