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Source: In These Times
With corporations and the wealthy pulling the strings and puppet politicians dancing on command, the outcome of battles in Congress and state legislatures over tax fairness is fairly predictable. But the North Carolina State AFL-CIO may have an answer. On April 15—Tax Day—the state federation is sponsoring a unique “Fair Fight” to stop state lawmakers from continuing to shift the tax burden of the Tar Heel State’s wealthiest and corporations onto middle- and low-income working families.
Prominent Democrats—including the president and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi—are openly suggesting that Medicare be means-tested and Social Security payments be reduced by applying a lower adjustment for inflation. This is even before they’ve started budget negotiations with Republicans—who still refuse to raise taxes on the rich, close tax loopholes the rich depend on (such as hedge-fund and private-equity managers’ “carried interest”), increase capital gains taxes on the wealthy, cap their tax deductions or tax financial transactions. Read the rest of Selling the Store: Why Democrats Shouldn’t Put Social Security and Medicare on the Table on Robert Reich's blog.
Not quite three years ago 29 coal miners died in an explosion in a West Virginia mine with a history of deliberate safety violations and a corporate CEO who put “running coal” over miner safety. New legislation would bring the nation’s mine health and safety laws up to date, give mine safety officials the ability to effectively investigate and shut down habitually dangerous mines and hold mine operators accountable for putting their workers in unnecessary danger.
Tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT, don't forget to join the AFL-CIO for a webinar on creating an immigration process that includes a road map to citizenship and why this issue is so important.
After President Obama called for raising the nation’s minimum wage to $9 an hour and protecting it against inflation, the struggle that millions of low-wage workers face trying to survive on the current $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage is back on the nation’s radar screen.Recently NBC News took a look at “the workers who answer your customer service calls, deliver your pizzas, take care of your children, bag your groceries and serve your food,” including Crystal Dupont, 25, who takes customer service calls in the Houston apartment she shares with her mother who has disabilities.
Yvanna Cancela, an organizer for Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, is being honored by the White House today for her work with immigrants, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Cancela is the only union organizer to be named one of 11 honorees of this year's César Chávez Champions of Change awards, named after the United Farm Worker leader. She is being honored for her work in organizing Nevada residents in favor of creating an immigration process that includes a road map to citizenship.
The old building that housed the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in lower Manhattan was crowded by skyscrapers. The interior was dark and cramped and devoid of natural light.“The space we were in wasn’t meeting the needs of the children, each of whom has multiple chronic illnesses,” says Pat Tursi, CEO of the center. The Manhattan facility was designed based on more of a custodial care model—and when the center had to find a new space, it found a new opportunity.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in cases that could lead to marriage equality for same-sex couples, an issue of particular importance to working families and America's union members. "Working people believe in equality and fairness and that’s why we are happy to stand with millions of Americans and with President Obama in supporting marriage equality," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in a statement. "LGBT working people face numerous inequities in the workplace and in society as they struggle to care for their families."
