Don't forget, Ed Schultz's One Nation Working Together March is this Saturday, October 2, in Washington, DC.
The Nation recently posted a great background piece-- For Jobs, Justice, and Education. In a nutshell, the article talks about the plight of working families in America, tone-deaf Republican and Blue Dog Democrats who are fighting for the rich (instead of working for workers), and the rationale behind the march.
Here is a small excerpt.
"...we should be investing in rebuilding America, thereby helping to close the jobs gap, which will then help close the budget gap.
"Instead, as we careen toward a possible double-dip recession and a second round of devastating home foreclosures, the extreme right-wing media machine is desperately trying to discredit the idea that America's government can and should move aggressively to create more jobs...
"Nothing they say should persuade our leaders to throw America's working families under the bus. We are in the middle of the biggest economic crisis in half a century. Through its negligence and recklessness, Wall Street has already forced a brutal austerity program on Main Street. The role of America's government is to mitigate its effects and reverse the damage, not to make things worse by heaping suffering on top of suffering. This is not the time to abandon schools, shut down clinics, ignore crumbling infrastructure and forego job creation. This is not the time to take more away from families and communities that are already losing so much. We don't need a public austerity program on top of the private sector–imposed austerity that we are already enduring.
"But some members of Congress apparently think they should focus on closing the federal budget gap, even if it means letting millions more American families tumble. They are mistaken. America's workers find themselves in a deep hole. You don't cut your way out of a hole. You grow your way out of a hole. We can afford to invest more in America's long-term success. We are the wealthiest nation in the world. We should not be giving billions of dollars to companies like Halliburton abroad, while closing hospitals at home.
"...the American people finally will be able to choose between two movements: one that wants to demagogue problems and divide us, and another that wants to promote solutions and unite America."
Showing posts with label unions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unions. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Save the middle class: Big Ed wants you to march on DC
Ed Schultz, homespun radio progressive from Fargo, ND and now an MSNBC pundit, is organizing the One Nation March, to be held on October 2 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
According to Big Ed's website, "The march aims to bring working people, young people, retirees, civil rights activists and many others together on the Mall to show the obstructionists in Congress that we are many and diverse, strong and that united-and we will fight together for the American Dream...
"Working people can make a difference when we rely on ourselves and act collectively. We are America. And together we can make our voices heard."
Let's fight for the middle class. DC is quite a ways from Tucson. Maybe we could have a local march?
Here are the details from Big Ed's website.
ONE NATION WORKING TOGETHER
Our nation stands at a critical crossroads. The 30-year drive for a low-wage, high-consumption society that imports more and more of what it consumes has hit the wall.
Millions are unemployed, with little recovery in sight. A record number of Americans who want desperately to work have been jobless for more than 6 months.
At the same time, Wall Street continues to roll up big profits. Banks and corporations have made off with trillions of public dollars, while small businesses can't get loans and cities are being forced to make cuts to public education and public safety, harming our children and our communities.
Obstructionists in Congress are doing everything they can to stop anything that helps working people, and they are scapegoating workers for the demise of the economy. Public sector workers are being cast as selfish, auto workers are being blamed for the troubles of the auto industry, and teachers are being blamed for an education system in need of support.
Working people are frustrated and angry-incensed by the government's inability to halt massive job loss and declining living standards on the one hand, and the comparative ease with which Republicans in Congress, with help from some Democrats, have done their best to make the world safe again for JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and CitiGroup, on the other.
Just as we have seen through history, fear mongers in our country have seized on that anger and are working hard -- unfortunately with some success--to use justifiable anger about a failing economy to divide us.
We have to fight this hateful demagoguery that only benefits our foes, and we can't do it alone. History has taught us that the best way to fight the forces of hatred is to address the economic policies that led to our economic suffering, and that our fight must draw its strength from an alliance of the poor and the middle class-everyone who works for a living.
It is against this backdrop that we join ONE NATION.
ONE NATION is a multi-racial, civil and human rights movement whose mission is to reorder our nation's priorities to invest in our nation's most valuable resource - our people.
The organizations that have come together to form ONE NATION believe that our goal should be a future of shared prosperity, not stubborn unemployment and a lost generation. Workers should be able to share in the wealth they create, and everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve the American Dream - a secure job; the chance for our children to get a great public education and the opportunity to make their own way in the world; and laws that protect us, not oppress us.
ONE NATION is a long-term effort to reverse the dangerous economic course of our country over the past four decades. It brings together organizations from across the progressive spectrum-labor, civil rights, environmental, faith and many others-recognizing that none of us alone have been able to achieve our priorities, whether they are large-scale job creation, labor law reform, immigration reform, investing in public education or other concerns, and that we will not realize change until these priorities belong to all of us.
ONE NATION shares the labor movement's policy agenda: An economy that works for all; good jobs, fair jobs, safe jobs, and more jobs; reforming Wall Street; repairing our immigration system; quality education for every child; and ensuring that everyone in America has the opportunity to contribute to and strengthen our country. Restoring workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively is at the heart of the policy agenda.
The ONE NATION march on Washington on October 2, 2010 will charge up an army of tens of thousands of activists who will return to their neighborhoods, churches, schools and, especially, voting booths, with new energy to enact our common agenda. And on the same day, the labor movement will walk door-to-door in targeted states around the country, bringing the same message to union members exactly one month before the fall elections.
The march aims to bring working people, young people, retirees, civil rights activists and many others together on the Mall to show the obstructionists in Congress that we are many and diverse, strong and that united-and we will fight together for the American Dream.
Many of our unions are already committed to work as a part of ONE NATION. The unions of the AFL-CIO proudly join this coalition and pledge to work collectively to add our support to this great effort.
Working people can make a difference when we rely on ourselves and act collectively. We are America. And together we can make our voices heard.
Here is the FAQ about the march.
When is the March?
Saturday, October 2, 2010. We will begin at 12:00 noon and will end at approximately 4:00 pm.
Where is the March?
The March takes place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial located on the National Mall in Washington DC.
Is the event open to the public?
Yes, this event is open to the public. This event is also a family friendly event.
Is this event open to the media?
Yes. Media credentials and other logistics information may be obtained from the ONWT Communications Office which can be reached at 202 263 4529 or by email at ONWTCommunications@gmail.com.
What happens if it rains?
The March will proceed rain or shine.
Will there be food, beverage and bathrooms available on site?
Yes, there will be portable bathrooms and water on site.
Can I bring signs?
Yes, you can bring signs that promote the values of One Nation Working Together.
What arrangements are being made for persons with disabilities?
Special accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Please contact ONWTlogistics@gmail.com with any questions.
Where can I stay in the DC area?
There are many hotels in the D.C. area that are close to the March event site. To learn more about union hotels in the Washington, D.C. area, visit the Unite Here website.
Additional information about Washington, D.C. can be found at www.washington.org.
Can I make a donation to support the March or ONWT?
Please send any donations by check to:
One Nation Working Together Campaign
1825 K Street, NW Suite 210
ATTN: Matt Reents
Washington DC, 20006
According to Big Ed's website, "The march aims to bring working people, young people, retirees, civil rights activists and many others together on the Mall to show the obstructionists in Congress that we are many and diverse, strong and that united-and we will fight together for the American Dream...
"Working people can make a difference when we rely on ourselves and act collectively. We are America. And together we can make our voices heard."
Let's fight for the middle class. DC is quite a ways from Tucson. Maybe we could have a local march?
Here are the details from Big Ed's website.
ONE NATION WORKING TOGETHER
Our nation stands at a critical crossroads. The 30-year drive for a low-wage, high-consumption society that imports more and more of what it consumes has hit the wall.
Millions are unemployed, with little recovery in sight. A record number of Americans who want desperately to work have been jobless for more than 6 months.
At the same time, Wall Street continues to roll up big profits. Banks and corporations have made off with trillions of public dollars, while small businesses can't get loans and cities are being forced to make cuts to public education and public safety, harming our children and our communities.
Obstructionists in Congress are doing everything they can to stop anything that helps working people, and they are scapegoating workers for the demise of the economy. Public sector workers are being cast as selfish, auto workers are being blamed for the troubles of the auto industry, and teachers are being blamed for an education system in need of support.
Working people are frustrated and angry-incensed by the government's inability to halt massive job loss and declining living standards on the one hand, and the comparative ease with which Republicans in Congress, with help from some Democrats, have done their best to make the world safe again for JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and CitiGroup, on the other.
Just as we have seen through history, fear mongers in our country have seized on that anger and are working hard -- unfortunately with some success--to use justifiable anger about a failing economy to divide us.
We have to fight this hateful demagoguery that only benefits our foes, and we can't do it alone. History has taught us that the best way to fight the forces of hatred is to address the economic policies that led to our economic suffering, and that our fight must draw its strength from an alliance of the poor and the middle class-everyone who works for a living.
It is against this backdrop that we join ONE NATION.
ONE NATION is a multi-racial, civil and human rights movement whose mission is to reorder our nation's priorities to invest in our nation's most valuable resource - our people.
The organizations that have come together to form ONE NATION believe that our goal should be a future of shared prosperity, not stubborn unemployment and a lost generation. Workers should be able to share in the wealth they create, and everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve the American Dream - a secure job; the chance for our children to get a great public education and the opportunity to make their own way in the world; and laws that protect us, not oppress us.
ONE NATION is a long-term effort to reverse the dangerous economic course of our country over the past four decades. It brings together organizations from across the progressive spectrum-labor, civil rights, environmental, faith and many others-recognizing that none of us alone have been able to achieve our priorities, whether they are large-scale job creation, labor law reform, immigration reform, investing in public education or other concerns, and that we will not realize change until these priorities belong to all of us.
ONE NATION shares the labor movement's policy agenda: An economy that works for all; good jobs, fair jobs, safe jobs, and more jobs; reforming Wall Street; repairing our immigration system; quality education for every child; and ensuring that everyone in America has the opportunity to contribute to and strengthen our country. Restoring workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively is at the heart of the policy agenda.
The ONE NATION march on Washington on October 2, 2010 will charge up an army of tens of thousands of activists who will return to their neighborhoods, churches, schools and, especially, voting booths, with new energy to enact our common agenda. And on the same day, the labor movement will walk door-to-door in targeted states around the country, bringing the same message to union members exactly one month before the fall elections.
The march aims to bring working people, young people, retirees, civil rights activists and many others together on the Mall to show the obstructionists in Congress that we are many and diverse, strong and that united-and we will fight together for the American Dream.
Many of our unions are already committed to work as a part of ONE NATION. The unions of the AFL-CIO proudly join this coalition and pledge to work collectively to add our support to this great effort.
Working people can make a difference when we rely on ourselves and act collectively. We are America. And together we can make our voices heard.
Here is the FAQ about the march.
When is the March?
Saturday, October 2, 2010. We will begin at 12:00 noon and will end at approximately 4:00 pm.
Where is the March?
The March takes place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial located on the National Mall in Washington DC.
Is the event open to the public?
Yes, this event is open to the public. This event is also a family friendly event.
Is this event open to the media?
Yes. Media credentials and other logistics information may be obtained from the ONWT Communications Office which can be reached at 202 263 4529 or by email at ONWTCommunications@gmail.com.
What happens if it rains?
The March will proceed rain or shine.
Will there be food, beverage and bathrooms available on site?
Yes, there will be portable bathrooms and water on site.
Can I bring signs?
Yes, you can bring signs that promote the values of One Nation Working Together.
What arrangements are being made for persons with disabilities?
Special accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Please contact ONWTlogistics@gmail.com with any questions.
Where can I stay in the DC area?
There are many hotels in the D.C. area that are close to the March event site. To learn more about union hotels in the Washington, D.C. area, visit the Unite Here website.
Additional information about Washington, D.C. can be found at www.washington.org.
Can I make a donation to support the March or ONWT?
Please send any donations by check to:
One Nation Working Together Campaign
1825 K Street, NW Suite 210
ATTN: Matt Reents
Washington DC, 20006
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Cartel wars come to Arizona
Only a week after the Arizona Primaries, Governor Jan Brewer is running ads linking her opponent Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard to Obama, unions, and the "boycott cartel."
OK, agreed, for some of us, these linkages are reasons to vote for Goddard, but his portrayal in these attack ads is damming. Blog for Arizona has an embedded video, and there is a similar but different radio version airing on 1330AM during the daily John C. Scott political talk show. (Personally, I think the radio ad is stronger than the TV ad.)
Not to be outdone, the Democrats are claiming that Brewer is ensconsed in a "lobbyist cartel."
In a previous post, I wrote about Brewer's ties to private prison lobbyists.
But the Democrats' list of "lobbyist cartel" members in Brewer's cabinet is impressive-- in a bad way, of course. At least now we know where she gets her ideas. :)
Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:
Governor Brewer, cut ties to your lobbyist cartel
As Arizona's working families struggle through crisis after crisis,
Brewer surrounds herself with special-interest lobbyists who profit
PHOENIX -- It's time for Gov. Jan Brewer to cut ties with her staff of special-interest lobbyists. They, not Brewer, are running the 9th floor, and Arizona is suffering the consequences -- we remain dead last in school funding and we lead the pack in job losses and foreclosures.
Brewer's campaign staff and governing staff are overrun with lobbyists, particularly those with direct ties to prison privatization. Brewer's lobbyists have been leaders in the efforts to privatize Arizona's prison system at the expense of public safety. Here's a quick Who's Who:
Campaign Manager Chuck Coughlin is a registered lobbyist and president of HighGround Public Affairs Consultants, which has represented Corrections Corporation of America.
Campaign Spokesman Doug Cole is a registered lobbyist for HighGround Public Affairs Consultants.
Governor's Office Chief of Staff Eileen Klein was a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Communications Director Paul Senseman was a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Deputy Communications Director Mark Genrich is a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Bark was a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Policy Adviser Kevin Kinsall was a registered lobbyist.
Today, Brewer and her fellow Republicans on the general-election slate launched a noisy, coordinated assault on Democrats who fight for hard-working Arizonans. Yet Brewer was eerily quiet throughout August as her handlers' deep ties to private prison lobbyists were exposed in the wake of murderers escaping from a private Kingman prison.
(NOTE to the Dems: nice press release, but it can't compete with a TV ad. Buy some air time. We need to save this state!)
OK, agreed, for some of us, these linkages are reasons to vote for Goddard, but his portrayal in these attack ads is damming. Blog for Arizona has an embedded video, and there is a similar but different radio version airing on 1330AM during the daily John C. Scott political talk show. (Personally, I think the radio ad is stronger than the TV ad.)
Not to be outdone, the Democrats are claiming that Brewer is ensconsed in a "lobbyist cartel."
In a previous post, I wrote about Brewer's ties to private prison lobbyists.
But the Democrats' list of "lobbyist cartel" members in Brewer's cabinet is impressive-- in a bad way, of course. At least now we know where she gets her ideas. :)
Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:
Governor Brewer, cut ties to your lobbyist cartel
As Arizona's working families struggle through crisis after crisis,
Brewer surrounds herself with special-interest lobbyists who profit
PHOENIX -- It's time for Gov. Jan Brewer to cut ties with her staff of special-interest lobbyists. They, not Brewer, are running the 9th floor, and Arizona is suffering the consequences -- we remain dead last in school funding and we lead the pack in job losses and foreclosures.
Brewer's campaign staff and governing staff are overrun with lobbyists, particularly those with direct ties to prison privatization. Brewer's lobbyists have been leaders in the efforts to privatize Arizona's prison system at the expense of public safety. Here's a quick Who's Who:
Campaign Manager Chuck Coughlin is a registered lobbyist and president of HighGround Public Affairs Consultants, which has represented Corrections Corporation of America.
Campaign Spokesman Doug Cole is a registered lobbyist for HighGround Public Affairs Consultants.
Governor's Office Chief of Staff Eileen Klein was a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Communications Director Paul Senseman was a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Deputy Communications Director Mark Genrich is a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Bark was a registered lobbyist.
Governor's Office Policy Adviser Kevin Kinsall was a registered lobbyist.
Today, Brewer and her fellow Republicans on the general-election slate launched a noisy, coordinated assault on Democrats who fight for hard-working Arizonans. Yet Brewer was eerily quiet throughout August as her handlers' deep ties to private prison lobbyists were exposed in the wake of murderers escaping from a private Kingman prison.
(NOTE to the Dems: nice press release, but it can't compete with a TV ad. Buy some air time. We need to save this state!)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Should the RTA take over SunTran? I vote "no"
For several weeks, the issue of SunTran control has been bouncing around the City Council Chambers and the media.
Today as the Tucson City Council considered whether or not to relinquish control of the SunTran bus service to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), pro- and anti-RTA demonstrators gathered outside (1, 2). The Teamsters Union (below) supports the move to RTA because they believe the RTA will provide a more stable funding source for the bus service and, therefore, the union members. Bus riders and representatives from Casa Maria Soup Kitchen (above) protested against the move to RTA because they fear steep fare increases and cuts to services if the regional authority takes over the buses.
Yes, the city is strapped for cash, but I disagree with the proposal to transfer SunTran to the RTA.
First of all, the vast majority of SunTran riders (in the neighborhood of 80-90%) are residents of the City of Tucson; this alone should be reason enough for the city to retain control. SunTran riders are people who don't have other transportation, can't afford to park or can't find parking where they work (ie, the University of Arizona), or can't drive, ride a bike, or walk to their destinations. Often-- but not always-- these people just can't afford cars.
If SunTran were controlled by a regional authority, Tucson would have one equal vote along with several smaller suburban cities-- such as Oro Valley or Marana. Obviously, potential suburban bus riders have different needs than the poor people and students who ride the city buses. Although Tucson is the biggest city in this group and has the most riders, it would be one voice among many at the RTA table.
RTA claims that it has solid funding, and this is why the Teamsters are supporting the RTA take-over. According to a radio interview between former City Councilman Steve Leal and activist Brian Flagg of Casa Maria, RTA would increase fares-- perhaps even doubling them-- if they take over SunTran.
The tragedy of all of this is that it pits workers who are fighting for their jobs and a living wage, against riders, who are fighting for affordable transportation and a means to get to their jobs or school. These groups should stick together, rather than battling against each other. At the end of the day, drivers and riders have more in common than they may believe today.
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