Pensions

It is difficult to read, watch or listen to the news without hearing that public employees are paid too much and get “lucrative” pensions and this is “bankrupting” your state, county or city. Public officials are "in bed" with "union bosses" and state and local government; taxpayer dollars are wasted to pay for people who don’t do much work but live the good life. more »

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Since the 80s many employers have stopped offering health care, pensions and other benefits to their employees. Many are also cutting pay and hours, while increasing the workload. So more and more people are hurting. As more and more of us fall further and further behind, corporate/conservative propagandists use resentment to drive anti-union feelings. more »

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If you haven't already noticed, there is a corporate/conservative campaign underway to convince the public that public employees are living high on the taxpayer's dime and should have their pay and pensions cut back. Even during the holidays this attack does not let up. more »

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Our economy is not structured to produce enough jobs. Tomorrow's jobs report is expected to show as many as 200,000 jobs created in March, but a lot of that is temporary Census hires, and even 200,000 jobs created is still 2-300,000 fewer jobs than number of new entrants into the job market each month! more »

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Say what you will about leaders in the American Right, you have to admire their focus. They sit around with loaded shotguns waiting for a target of opportunity to appear. And, unlike Dick Cheney, they rarely miss.

The latest clay pigeon to cross their field of vision is the financial crisis in Greece. The target, however, is not Greece but public sector pensions in the U.S. 

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Before she became the first female Labor secretary in 1933, Frances Perkins had seen firsthand the tragedy of Manhattan’s 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire. Locked in by their employer, 146 mostly young girls died when they couldn’t escape the burning building where they toiled in sweatshop labor. Later, as the New York industrial commissioner, Perkins held employers accountable for workplace safety and health, expanding factory investigations and championing other pro-worker laws, like unemployment insurance.

Now, imagine if Elaine Chao had been there instead. more »

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But the current crisis has long roots. America's working families have been suffering through what is now a generation-long stagnation of wages and rising economic insecurity. Steps must be taken immediately to shore up our flagging economy and provide much-needed assistance to working families.

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