Who’s violating fair labor standards in your neighborhood? And which companies in your area are outsourcing jobs? You can find out at Job Tracker, an online database maintained by Working America.

Reporting violators of fair labor standards is a new addition to Job Tracker. Working America has just added 40,000 new records from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour inspections database. The new records track corporate violators of the Fair Labor Standards Act [FLSA], which governs minimum wage, overtime pay and child-labor laws.  Job Tracker enables you to see companies by zip code, with the number of violations, the number of children employed illegally, back wages paid, fines assessed and information about companies considered repeat or willful violators.

The new records build on Job Tracker’s first-of-its kind consolidation of data about mass layoffs and anticipated plant closings, OSHA violations, labor law violations, and listings of companies that have sent jobs overseas.  Job Tracker is a joint project of Working America and the AFL-CIO and contains data on over 400,000 companies. Working America, a fast-growing organization for working people in the U.S., has 3 million members.

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As I look at these photos from the 1970s and 80s, I am humbled by the strength and courage of these workers. They went to work every day in a dirty and dangerous environment to support their families, to give them a better life. But there was pride, too, and honor and self-respect.

Perhaps our country failed to appreciate the contributions of people like these workers. Perhaps we forgot the value of their labors, and let something of value slip away. But on this Labor Day weekend, let us pause to remember the hardworking people who are the foundation of our nation. And thank them.

The post Photographer’s notebook: a Labor Day tribute to hard-working people appeared first on Occasional Planet.

I’d never heard of Valley Stream. It sounds like the sorta non-descript town that could be anywhere in America. (Apparently it’s in New York.) It has a population of 37,000 people. Around 260 of those people are employed at their local Target. They may not sound terrible exciting, but these people are movers and shakers. I say that because some of those 260 Valley Stream employees have done something no one else in twenty years has done: they tried to unionize Target.

The idea was to have workers of Target join the United Commercial and Food Workers Union. Employees had complained about low wages and not getting enough hours a week to support themselves. (Various employees were on foodstamps and some parents were only able to get 10 hours a week. Definitely not what most would consider a livable wage.) These people petitioned for union representation. A member of the local U.C.F.W. union worked with them, contacted the other employees at Target, explained the benefits of joining a union, and then most of the employees voted on whether or not to join. It failed by a vote of 85 for and 137 against, but still it set a precedent. Other people working for big box stores and surviving on low wages, could stand up for themselves and tackle Goliath. Maybe the next group would be more successful. (Indeed, other Target stores in New York are already talking about trying to unionize.)

Target isn’t the only bad guy here (I’m looking at you, Walmart) but they definitely didn’t do themselves any favors with the working class. They have been accused of bullying, restricting the rights of employees to wear pro-union buttons, and not allowing employees to discuss current working conditions.  Worse yet, all incoming employees have to watch this hilariously bad video which talks about how unions only want you so they can collect union dues, would force you to not be able to help customers, and could shut down the Target you work for. It’s a shameless piece of propaganda. And sadly, so far it’s worked.

I’m not saying unions don’t have their flaws (They’re also know for bullying tactics and discrimination) but when you have 1,755 stores and net earnings (just for 2010) of $2,920,000,000.00, you can afford to pass along some of that to your employees. Target supposedly prides itself on being a shining beacon of corporate responsibility. If it really cares about the communities it serves, it should take the initiative to support its workers more. It doesn’t even have to unionize to do that. Increasing wages or allowing people enough hours so they can apply for health insurance would be a step in the right direction.

The post Unions are hitting the bull’s-eye appeared first on Occasional Planet.

In the past, Democratic politicians could always count on union campaign contributions. But, when it comes to supporting working families, corporate Democrats have not delivered, or at least not to the extent that they need to in these difficult times. By spending the last three years trying to compromise with the anti-labor GOP, they have moved the party more to the right. As a result, unions are reconsidering how to best spend their money

AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka, who vigorously confronted racism among white union members during the last presidential campaign and turned out the vote for then candidate Barack Obama, is considering withholding union campaign funds for 2012. According to Trumka, Democrats are getting too reliant on corporate money and less helpful to working and middle class Americans. He points out that Republicans get 79 percent of campaign contributions from business, but Democrats are not far behind with 72 percent. Unhappy with the pro-business leanings of the Democratic Party, he is hoping to use union funds that would have gone to politicians to build and strengthen worker movements at the grassroots level. A recent article by Joan Walsh at Salon explores Trumka’s growing rift with Democrats:

[In 2010] Trumka’s AFL-CIO famously bucked the White House, supporting Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s unsuccessful primary challenge to Blue Dog Sen. Blanche Lincoln. [Lincoln lost in the general election.] When Halter lost, anonymous White House officials attacked labor leaders as “absolute idiots” who had been “humiliated” after flushing $10 million “down the toilet.” In an interview last week Trumka seemed unchastened by attacks over the Halter bid, and he pledged the AFL-CIO to a new independence from Democratic Party organizations and candidates. He didn’t spell out exactly what that might mean, citing decisions to be made by the federation’s governing Executive Council. “You’ll see us giving less to party structure, and more to our own structure,” Trumka promised.”

Trumka has been unhappy with how the Obama White House discouraged independent progressive campaigns on behalf of healthcare reform and against anti-union Blue Dog Democrats, and recently with how the White House discouraged direct DNC/OFA support for Wisconsin public sector workers who demonstrated against GOP Governor Walker’s attempts to gut public sector unions. However, Trumka did praise statements Obama made during the union demonstrations in Wisconsin, saying they were “very, very helpful.

“First, he called what was going on in Wisconsin the attack on working people,” Trumka said on MSNBC. “And then he met with the Republican governors and he said: ‘You’re wrong for villainizing public workers. They’re our neighbors, they’re our friends, they’re our nurses, they’re doctors, they’re teachers. They’re all of our friends – you shouldn’t do that.’ ”

Trumka, the only labor representative on Obama’s jobs council, added that “this really isn’t about Obama.”

“This is about those governors that are making war on their employees and trying to deny them a middle-class lifestyle,” he said. “Hopefully, there will be more and more support from politicians, including the president.”

But while Trumka has praised Obama for his pro-union statements, he has also been critical of his lack of substantive action for job creation and relief for working families. According to the Huffington Post:

The labor ommunity — the AFL-CIO especially — has been taking steps towards greater independence from the Democratic Party as its disappointments with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have mounted. The typical response from party insiders has been dismissive assumptions that labor has nowhere else to go.

But, unions, having been reinvigorated by the grassroots uprisings at Madison and in other states, are no longer willing to be taken for granted. When Joan Walsh asked if Wisconsin surprised him, Trumka said:

You know, you knew it was coming. It was more like: When? What’s going to be the final pinpoint that makes it happen? . . . It was truly a spontaneous grassroots rank and file movement, and it’s still growing. Now it’s up to us to convert it from a moment to a movement.

On May 20, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.,  Richard Trumka spoke about a new direction for the AFL-CIO:

We have listened hard, and what workers want is an independent labor movement that builds the power of working people—in the workplace and in political life. Working people want a labor movement strong enough to help return balance to our economy, fairness to our tax system, security to our families, and moral and economic standing to our nation. Our role is not to build the power of a political party or a candidate. It is to improve the lives of working families and strengthen our country.

It doesn’t matter if candidates and parties are controlling the wrecking ball or simply standing aside—the outcome is the same either way. If leaders aren’t blocking the wrecking ball, and advancing working families’ interests, working people will not support them. This is where our focus will be—now, in 2012 and beyond.

We will uphold the dignity of work and restore respect for working people. In this season’s political battles, teachers, nurses and firefighters have been vilified. Decent jobs with economic security have been cast as more than America’s workers deserve. Low-wage, part-time, temporary, no-benefit work is being sold as the “new normal” for our economy. We know that only a dynamic, effective movement of working people working together can reclaim the value of work. Our unions must reach out to every working person in America—to those whose jobs have been outsourced and down-sized, to carwash workers in Los Angeles, to domestic workers who have few legal rights, to freelancers and young people who have “gigs” rather than jobs. And together with the AFL-CIO’s construction and manufacturing workers, pilots and painters, plumbers and public employees, bakers and others, we will be heard.

The stakes are so high, for working families, for America. Will we be a country ruled by greed, by people who would cut or take pensions away from first responders, people who would take away the fundamental human rights of our workers, who would choose tax breaks for the richest among us over a future for all of us? Or will we be a country where we choose the future, where we look out for each other, where all of us have a voice?

We’ll only win investments in our future if we again embrace the idea that we are one national community. That our very identity is bound up with the promise that all of us have a voice—in the workplace, at the ballot box—and that we are responsible in a deep sense for each other. The fabric of our government, our democratic republic, is about making that responsibility for each other real.

The moral character of America is worth fighting for, and that is exactly what working people are going to do in the days and months to come.

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On February 27, the people occupying the Wisconsin state capital building in support of worker’s rights, broke out in a stirring rendition of a song from Les Misérables, one of the most famous and most performed musicals worldwide. The musical is based on the novel Les Misérables (1862) by Victor Hugo, which follows the struggles of a group of characters as they seek personal redemption and social revolution in nineteenth century France.

Hugo, also a political activist, spoke out against social injustice. When Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) seized complete power in 1851, establishing an anti-parliamentary constitution, Hugo openly declared him a traitor to France. He then relocated to Guernsey, where he lived in exile until 1870. While in exile, he published a famous political pamphlet against Napoleon III, Napoléon le Petit. It includes the concept of “two plus two equals five” as a denial of truth by authority, a notion later used by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Hugo’s pamphlet was banned in France, but nonetheless had a strong impact there. He also penned Les Misérables.while in exile.

Today, February 28, Wisconsin TV stations are being flooded by Koch brothers funded advertising that claims “two plus two equals five,” demonizes the protesting workers, and supports Governor Walker’s draconian bill. Walker, who has only been in office six weeks, seems to be auditioning for the role of Napoleon III of Wisconsin. He has already given generous tax cuts to the wealthy. His “Budget Repair” bill would strip public workers of their right to collective bargaining. It would give him the authority to sell off public assets at his discretion, to whomever he wants, at whatever price he wants. It also would allow him to circumvent the legislature and cut health services for the poor and elderly. In addition he plans steep cuts to education and local governments. And, unless he has his way, he is threatening to lay off thousands of Wisconsin teachers and other public sector workers.

But the public sector workers and their supporters have been hanging strong for two weeks. This past weekend saw the largest number of demonstrators to date, upwards of 100,000 who stood in peaceful protest, in freezing temperatures, while snow fell. Others occupied the state capital building.

The public sector workers of Wisconsin are leading the country in what may turn out to be our own 21st century revolution—a revolution that restores social and economic justice to the working and middle class people of America.

Feel free to sing along in solidarity.

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of working men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of working men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of working men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

The post Madison protestors, inspired by Victor Hugo, take on Wisconsin’s newly elected emperor appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Newly elected Republican governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin is attempting to reduce teacher’s benefits in his state and destroy their ability to organize. In his first 50 days in office, Walker gave tax breaks to the wealthy, and is now trying to reduce benefits and take away collective bargaining rights from teachers because the “state is broke. “ In one of the most heartening progressive actions in decades, the teachers of Wisconsin have responded by shutting down the schools and occupying the State House.

In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state’s budget, Wisconsin’s  Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million. Walker is now claiming  there is a $137 million deficit.  That deficit exists because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for his cronies and their special-interest groups in January. To resolve the deficit, Walker has proposed a $137 million budget “repair” bill designed to undermine the long-established collective bargaining rights of public employee unions, and pay for his schemes that redirect state tax dollars to wealthy individuals and corporate interests.

This story is bigger than Wisconsin. Finally, the beleaguered middle class is saying no to to the relentless plundering of public resources for private gain. They are saying no to banks and corporations, and the Democratic and Republican politicians who do their bidding at the expense of working people.  And in the land of unions where the state motto is “forward Wisconsin” the citizens have begun to take back the country for working and middle class Americans.

A draconian bill and fourteen brave Democrats

The governor and his Republican controlled Senate and Assembly had planned to ram though his draconian “budget repair” bill that would punish teachers, destroy public sector collective bargaining, and cut state health care funding for the poor. The senate needed one Democrat to form a quorum, but fourteen brave Democratic senators have fled to Illinois to prevent the vote on the bill.  They are still there as of this writing. As of Saturday, February 19, there were up to 70,000 teachers and supporters in Madison demonstrating against the bill.

Walker, whose campaign was funded heavily by the Koch brothers who are known for their antipathy toward public sector unions, has decided to do their bidding in Wisconsin. But the Koch brothers found a like-minded candidate in Walker, who had long fought unions in his previous job as Milwaukee County executive. A right wing extremist, he once suggested privatizing the entire government.

What Walker is doing is happening all over the country in Republican controlled states. Republican governors and their Republican controlled state assemblies are busy union busting. In the post Citizens United era, unions are the only institutional donors that can somewhat compete against the flood of corporate money that will go to Republicans in 2012. So, Republicans will spend the next two years in an all-out assault on public and private unions. If they have their way, union membership will plummet and unions will lose their financial base and their ability to stem the flood of corporate money in 2012.

Fighting back with progressive action

What is happening in Wisconsin is clear, focused progressive grassroots action, something that has been missing on the Left for decades. Not only are the teachers and their supporters demonstrating, they are considering recalling eight Republican senators immediately and Governor Walker next January. Even if they fail and the bill passes, the teachers, with union and other progressive support , will pursue the recalls. All of these actions build political muscle and will inspire others around the country to fight back against the political policies and corporate forces that are gutting the middle class and devastating the working poor.

The teachers have received tremendous support from around the country and around the world. Some have traveled from other states to join the them in Madison. Others who live outside the state have ordered pizzas to be delivered to the demonstrators. (So far Ian’s Pizza on State Street has taken donation orders from over half the states in the Union plus the countries of Egypt, Denmark, Canada, Germany, China, England, Netherlands and Turkey.) Even people in Egypt are aware of what is going on in Wisconsin and have shown their solidarity. It is thrilling, and fitting, that a progressive state that gave us the eight-hour workday and five-day workweek, is at the epicenter of this fight—a national fight to restore and strengthen the middle class.

On Wisconsin!

The post Madison: a middle-class uprising appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Right-to-work legislation may be making another appearance in Missouri. But with a unionized workforce of less than 11% of all Missouri workers, it’s being called  “a completely irrelevant factor” in job growth . That view may not stop a Republican majority in Missouri from presenting the issue once again, with claims of job growth and more choice for workers.

If you have ever been a part of a union, you’re no stranger to union dues. That is the crux of right-to-work laws: allowing employees to work for union-only employers without paying union dues. All of the benefits of a unionized work place and no dues?  Who wouldn’t like that? Dues-paying union members and union organizers don’t like it. They say that non-union employees undermine the power that a unified workforce has.

How right-to-work states measure up to the rest of the country

Of the 22 states with right-to-work laws, five of them [Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee] have no minimum wage requirement. Those states also have some of the highest poverty rates and lowest median incomes in the country.

Three right-to-work states [Georgia, Arkansas, and Wyoming] have a minimum wage that is less than the federal minimum [$7.25 per hour]. Georgia currently ranks 2^nd in highest poverty rates and Arkansans have the 2^nd lowest median income in the country.

Of the remaining 14 right-to-work states the low-wage, high poverty rate trend continues with few exceptions. Are there other factors? Yes. Population, household size, labor laws, cost of living, industry and the economy all play roles. Politics may also play a role: most of the right-to-work states are predominantly red states.

Missouri unions and labor laws

Union membership in America has seen a steady decline over the past few decades. Missouri is not immune. While more than a third of American workers were once represented by unions, the national average is now only about 12.3%. At 10.6%, Missouri falls short of that number. Labor laws that target unions harm unions; right-to-work states have some of the lowest numbers of unionized employees to date.

Compared to right-to-work states, Missourians fare slightly better. Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia all have percentages [of unionized workers] under 7%.

All but two right-to-work states [Nevada, Iowa] fall short of the national average. In Nevada and Iowa, the high numbers can be attributed in part to a concentration of public sector unions. Nationally, public sector unions make up half of the entire unionized workforce.

As an “employment at will” state, Missouri employers can change the status of your employment for any or no reason—including termination, work hours, and wages–so long as changes cannot be classified as discrimination. Missouri employers are not required by state law to offer benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation/medical leave. They are also not required by Missouri law to give employees periods of rest [breaks], including lunch breaks. Employers in Missouri can require employees to work any number of hours but must pay time and a half for more than 40 hours in a work week.

Along with the drop in union membership, American workers have seen wages stagnate, loss of benefits such as employer-provided health care, and the offshoring of jobs. A strong and empowered workforce seems especially important. Among other things, unions negotiate on behalf of members for higher wages, health and medical benefits, and paid leave. The collection bargaining power of union members typically results in higher wages and retirement security.

Language and framing

These and other statistics may be why some opponents of so-called “Right-to-Work” laws consider “Right-to-Exploit” a more apt description. Proponents of “right to work” call non-Right-to-Work states “forced unionism” states. On one side ,there is a group of unified workers and union leaders against the exploitation of their peers. On the other, a polished legal defense group who lobbies on behalf of employers under the guise of more rights for you, the laborer.

It goes without saying that “forced unionism” is misleading. It certainly implies there are enough people living under the heavy-handed tyranny of unions that new legislation is required to protect these oppressed workers. Given the relatively fractional number of unions today, it is unlikely that a person in a given trade can’t find employment outside of a union. In fact, there are laws against forced unionism [read Taft-Hartley Act of 1947] and federal laws disabusing federal courts and/or legislatures of the notion to limit the right of workers to form or join unions.

The last time we faced a right-to-work law in Missouri, the year was 1978. It was soundly defeated. As we take another look at this law more than 30 years later, we should consider how weak our current labor laws are and whether further degrading the union workforce is wise. Do we choose quantity over quality, as we have in decades past? Will the passage of right-to-work legislation even result in said quantity? It may be called Right-to-Work, but this so-called right could come at a steep price.

The post Right-to-work [for less] could mean fewer rights appeared first on Occasional Planet.

In a recent article in In These Times, Joyce Chen takes a look at popular conservative myth: the overpaid, lazy government worker. According to Chen, conservatives on the midterm campaign trail are characterizing civil servants “as shiftless paper-pushers fattened on your tax dollar.” The GOP intent is to drive a wedge between civil servants and private sector workers thus providing populist support for “shrinking” government and privatizing government functions. For example, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, a new up and coming star of the GOP, has been accusing public employees of making lavish wages and benefits while ordinary private sector workers are struggling with cutbacks and shrinking paychecks. He has promised to cut the number of New Jersey state workers, cut the remaining workers benefits and pensions, and privatize some state government operations. Right wing think tanks like the Manhattan Institute, also push the idea of the “spoiled” public sector worker. Chen cites recent studies, which debunk the charge that government workers make too much money.

An analysis of New England public employees by the Center for Economic Policy and Research and Political Economy Research Institute helps dispel the myth of the “spoiled” government worker. Researchers found that New England’s state and local workers are actually comparatively disadvantaged.  After taking into account variables like age and education level, “state and local workers actually earn less, on average, than their private-sector counterparts.”

While it’s true that the public workers in the study have higher average incomes, this is primarily due to their higher ages and educational credentials. All in all:

While low-wage workers in New England receive a small wage premium in state and local jobs (about 5 percent for a typical low-wage worker), the typical middle-wage worker earns about 3 percent less in state and local work, and the typical high-wage worker makes about 13 percent less than a similar private-sector worker.

The government workers do tend to have better benefits, like sick leave and health insurance. But the researchers explained, “Benefits offered by state and local governments are roughly as generous as those offered by large firms in the private sector” (presumably when they’re not busy laying people off in droves).

According to Chen, civil servant bashing is union bashing. She notes that union workers currently make up about 37 percent of the government workforce, more than five times the private-sector unionization rate. The modest advantages enjoyed by public sector workers, she points out, are the product of decades of labor-government struggle in which the unions pushed for benefits and pensions rather than higher salaries. The GOP is first and foremost against organized labor which is at the heart of their antipathy towards civil servants.

Chen says:

As a result of this [union] strategy, most public-sector workers—84 percent—still enjoy traditional, defined benefit pensions that, after their retirement, pay them a fixed amount every month. In comparison, 81 percent of private-sector employees now rely on defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s, where workers save a portion of their earnings (which may or may not be matched by their employers) and then upon retiring, receive a lump sum payment.

Much of that progress, unfortunately, now risks being squandered in a flurry of budget cuts or, as the Public Interest points out, an aggressive push toward privatization of public institutions.

According to Chen, economically devastated private sector workers will attack their kid’s teacher, the fireman, or a government clerk who has a pension, instead of questioning the unfair economic structures under which they live. Fox news and conservative media demonize civil servants to deflect attention away from the real danger for private sector workers: corporate behavior. It’s easier to attack a neighbor than deconstruct the myths you have been force fed. Conservative politicians will continue stir up populist anger against government workers and their unions to justify slashing government payrolls and privatizing government functions such as prisons, schools, and the military. An economically depressed electorate is looking for someone to blame, and the GOP and the anti-government religious right is there to offer the government and government workers as scapegoats. What to do?

What is needed is an articulate counter argument, that the ordinary working American’s enemy is not their neighbor who happens to have a government job and a real pension, but corporate power, which is a corrupting force in our economy, our government, and our society. Americans don’t understand how much the deck is stacked against them. Unfortunately, most Democrats are too beholden to corporations themselves to deliver that message.

Perhaps a true progressive presidential candidate will emerge in 2010 or 2012. But meanwhile, at Thanksgiving dinner, when your conservative uncle parrots GOP talking points (that government workers are lazy and make too much money) don’t just roll you eyes, surprise him, and everyone else at the table, with the facts.

The post Conservative myths: The overpaid government worker appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Thinking of buying a hybrid? Confused by the slick advertising claims and uncertain about which vehicle will deliver the goods? Help is on the way with the first consumer-centric hybrid-vehicle website created by the respected Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).The Hybrid Scorecard is an independent rating of 31 hybrid models. See for yourself why UCS discovered that “not all hybrids are created equal.”

The post Putting the hybrid buyer in the driver’s seat appeared first on Occasional Planet.