Light at the End of the Unemployment Line? (July 30th)
According to Economic Policy Institute economist Josh Bivens, after a contraction of the Gross Domestic Product, the measure of all economic activity, over the past two quarters of an annualized rate of negative six percent, the GDP for this past quarter will come in at about negative 1.5 percent. Without the President's economic recovery act, the number would have been three times higher, he reports.
Economic Recovery: Take Two
The legacy of the Bush Administration has been a perfect storm of economic devastation – in finance, housing and jobs. The challenge of fixing this economic mess is enormous – and urgent. Creating good jobs that cannot be outsourced is central to the solution.
A Living Wage as Economic Stimulus
To little fanfare, the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25 per hour July 24th. It was the third scheduled raise in the minimum wage since 2007. A higher federal minimum wage is the best kind of economic stimulus for working families, say workers’ rights advocates and even some business owners.
Podcast #105: Minimum Wage Not Enough
On this episode, President Obama fires back against Republican obstructionism of health reform. The minimum wage goes up July 24th to $7.25 per hour. And we play excerpts of a recent interview with Dan Kovalik a United Steelworkers union staffer who traveled to Honduras earlier this month to observe pro-democracy protests against the military coup.
Light at the End of the Unemployment Line? (July 23)
A disappointing unemployment report earlier this month that saw the loss of 467,000 jobs in the month of June and a rise in the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, has caused predictions of a nearing economic turnaround to fall flat in recent months.
Labor Backs Health Reform Bills Moving Through Congress
To cheers from leaders of the labor movement, a public option as part of health reform cleared a major legislative hurdle, July 15, with passage of the Quality, Affordable Health Coverage for All Americans Act in the Senate HELP Committee.
Unions Denounce Coup in Honduras
Workers Uniting, representing 3.5 million workers in North America, the UK and Ireland, unequivocally condemns the military coup and kidnapping of the democratically elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya.
Protect Democracy, End the Coup in Honduras, an Interview
What really is at stake is a return to the period when there were episodic military coups in the region which brought into power military regimes which were very repressive towards workers, peasants and poor people, where they were actually murdering thousands of people.
Change is Here, Change is Coming
If the last 30 years were an era of reaction, then the coming decade could turn into an era of reform, even radical reform. Six months into the Obama presidency, I would say without hesitation that the landscape, atmosphere, conversation and agenda have strikingly changed compared to the previous eight years.
Climate Bill Passage Welcomed, Moves to Senate
Coalitions of labor, community and environmental groups cheered the passage of the historic climate change legislation in the House last month. But the hard work for a similar bill in the Senate has just begun, they added.
