U.S. Chamber of Commerce Slammed for Advocating Anti-Business Policies
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Slammed for Advocating Anti-Business Policies
January 16, 2012
Around Town - By Neal Tepel
The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength released a statement slamming the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for advocating policies that are bad for American business. The group made the statement in response to the Chamber’s annual State of American Business address which was delivered by Chamber President Tom Donohue, a former lobbyist for the trucking industry. The Patriotic Millionaires, which includes some of the country’s most prestigious business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors, said:
Speaker Silver Applauds Mayor Bloomberg's Support For Increased Minimum Wage
January 16, 2012 "I applaud and thank Mayor Bloomberg for joining our call to increase the minimum wage. As I have said, it is wrong to expect anyone – let alone working families – to be able to afford the cost of living today and invest in their future on a salary of $7.25 an hour. Increasing the minimum wage would benefit more than 14 percent of our workforce. Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to helping the more than 1.2 million low wage workers in New York climb the ladder of financial security is welcome news."
Statement from Stuart Appelbaum President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) The Statement Was Delivered Friday January 13, 2012 at a Living Wage Press Conference
January 16, 2012
I am Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU, UFCW). I want to thank Speaker Quinn for bringing us together today for this important announcement. She has shown tremendous leadership and courage, and I am deeply grateful to her and her staff for everything they have done to get us to this point. And we would not be here without the leadership and vision of Borough President Ruben Diaz and council members Annabel Palma and Oliver Koppell. The RWDSU and all of our partners have been proud to be part of a diverse coalition fighting for living wages. And today I am so very proud to say that we have taken an important step in that fight. Together with the faith community, unions, immigrants’ rights organizations, LGBTQ groups, women’s groups, anti-hunger groups, civil rights leaders, and many others we built a strong movement for economic justice – a movement that today can celebrate a real victory for working people in this city.
Coping with Painful Changes
January 16, 2012
By Dr. Howard M. Rombom
A diligent worker copes with her forced retirement.
After 15 years of hard work as a housekeeping employee, excruciating pain began to spread through Maria R.’s arms, hands and shoulders. The pain became intense that she was unable to continue her work at a large hotel in New York City — a job she had held for 15 years.
Doctors diagnosed Ms. R. with carpal tunnel syndrome and the treatment required surgery to both of her wrists. But even after the surgery, Ms. R. continued to feel pain, though its level had somewhat diminished. She was also unable to use her hands and arms as she had in the past. Doctors define her as “permanently partially disabled” and she was unable to return to work. As a result of this significant change in her life, she became depressed.
Help Those that are in Need
January 14, 2012By Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate for the City of New York
This Monday will mark the 27th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which we celebrate as a national day of service. It is a time to reflect on how far we have come, and on the work still ahead, in helping struggling families across our country. But for the 1.5 million New Yorkers who are malnourished or chronically unsure of where their next meal will come from, it is a day like any other. All of them, including hundreds of thousands of children, struggle with hunger every day and need our help.
Jewish Labor Committee Honors Labor Leaders
January 14, 2012By Marc Bussanich, LaborPress City Reporter
The Jewish Labor Committee honored three labor leaders and the President and CEO of Montefiore Medical Center, where a strike by the New York State Nurses Association was just averted, at the 41st Human Rights Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton. A long list of current and former labor luminaries was present, including the current AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
A Campaign Grows in Brooklyn
A Campaign Grows in Brooklyn
January 13, 2012
By Bendix Anderson, LaborPress Senior Editor
About a hundred lawyers and politicos gathered at Queen Restaurant January 9, for an evening of wine, good food, and political fundraising.
The Ticking Time Bomb - The Need for A National Pension Commission
The Ticking Time Bomb - The Need for A National Pension Commission
January 13, 2012
Thomas J. Mackell, Jr.
We are all well aware that pensions in the private sector have been under attack for decades and the assailants have been very successful with doing away with Defined Benefit Plans. In the early 80s, some 80% of private sector workers were covered by Defined Benefit plans. Today, it is down to approximately 16% and sliding off the cliff.
Percentage of Uninsured Workers Rising in Construction Industry and Non-United States Citizens 39 Percent of Tradesman
Percentage of Uninsured Workers Rising in Construction Industry and Non-United States Citizens 39 Percent of Tradesman
January 13, 2011
Around Town – By Neal Tepel
A New York Building Congress analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 American Community Survey found that 75 percent of New York City construction industry workers live in the five boroughs, led by residents of Queens and Brooklyn. As of 2010, there were 224,500 men and women in the construction industry, down 3.8 percent from 2009. The census data include both white-collar and blue-collar positions in private firms and on government payrolls.
Unions Pitted Over Living Wage Legislation
January 12, 2012By Marc Bussanich, LaborPress City Reporter
Living Wage NYC, a coalition of labor unions, clergy and community groups, have been fighting a tough campaign to ensure that workers working on development projects receiving government subsidies earn a living wage of $10 or more per hour. But not all unions favor the legislation, ironically, because some feel the legislation will discourage companies from building in New York, thereby potentially eliminating employment opportunities for their members.
The Frictions of Daily Life
The Frictions of Daily Life
January 12, 2012
By Thomas J. Mackell Jr.
The title of this essay was an expression used frequently by the late David Montgomery the labor historian.
It was said that he used this expression to expand the notion of how class happens, to describe all of the many ways in which workers have been strained and diminished. It was those frictions that produced a sense of being a member of a class being denied its full rights.
Obama Forces NLRB Appointments Past Congress
January 12, 2012Bendix Anderson, LaborPress Senior Editor
Fourteen pre-school teachers lost their jobs August 2010 after they voted to form a union. “We won an election, and three days later they were fired,” said Mike Green, organizing director for District Council 1707. That’s a clear violation of employment law. The union brought the case before the National Labor Relations Board, and nine months later Preschool of America had to give the teachers their jobs back.
Miranda Elected to Teamsters Executive Board
January 12, 2012By Bendix Anderson, LaborPress Senior Editor
This November, George Miranda became the first Puerto Rican ever elected to the executive board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is now IBT’s Vice President at Large, in addition to being President of Teamsters Joint Council 16.
But the election shows more than just support for Miranda, who won on the same ticket as IBT President Jim Hoffa. Hoffa received 60 percent of the vote. The election shows support for Hoffa’s negotiating strategy, which is currently waging a long fight against Sotheby’s, but which has also made some controversial concessions to employers in the freight industry.
Not So Fast
Not So Fast
January 11, 2012
By Larry Cary, Partner, Cary Kane LLP
Before a Union Demands Termination of an Employee for Non-payment of Dues, It Should Consult Its Attorney. This December, a union learned the hard way to take care when it exercises its legal rights regarding members who fail to pay their dues on time.
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