October 7 News Update

Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

About 15% of Americans live in poverty, so why is no one talking about it?
US surpasses Russia as world's top oil and natural gas producer
Fracking report points to toxic waste
Shutdown will put many home loans on hold
Use of force in Capitol Hill shooting debated
Lockheed will furlough 3,000 employees next week
Secret NSA files show campaign against Tor encrypted network
Gen. Giap, Who Ousted U.S. From Vietnam, Is Dead *
Greenpeace Activists Gain an Ally *
Shutdown Din Obscures Health Exchange Flaws *
Questions Often Asked About Health Law *
NTSB Issues Report on Chicago Train Crash *
Carnegie Hall and Stagehands Settle Contract Dispute *
Greenpeace holds vigils for activists jailed in Russia
Aboriginal leader Shawn Atleo warns of 'grave' human rights crisis
Pentagon will order almost all furloughed civilian employees back to work
Thousands Rally Nationwide in Support of an Immigration Overhaul *
South Africa union ends four-week auto components strike
Labor judge: City employees, retirees could be entitled to bonus payments
LAN pilots in Colombia refuse overtime to press labor dispute
Pyramid workers accuse Berkeley brewery of union busting
Calif. sues to change transit worker pensions
A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning *
Idle No More prepares for day of action
Superstore strike forces shoppers to debate crossing pickets
Workers say leaking fluid ignited fire, causing deadly Metro tunnel explosion
Abortion Vote Exposes Rift at a Catholic University *
At Nissan Plant in Mississippi, Battle to Shape the UAW’s Future *

October 5 Week In Review Now Online

The new WIR can be viewed by clicking here

October 4 News Update

Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Hundreds dead, missing as migrant boat sinks off Italy
Immigration Bill’s New Bracero Program Will Hurt Farmworkers
Vermont home care workers vote to unionize
Brazil electoral court rejects new opposition party
California gives immigrants driver's licenses
Oceans face 'deadly trio' of threats, study says
Ty Moore’s socialist campaign
Building the environmental movement today: A debate
Locked-Out Government Workers to Rally at Capitol on Friday
Green light for Amazon oil drilling

October 3 News Update

Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law *
Pro-union child care providers ask court to let them vote
Greatest Orchestra’ Still Locked Out
One-Day Strikes: A Word to the Wise
The Story of Solutions: Time to Replace 'More' with 'Better'
Exploitation of Workers in the Dominican Republic's Sugar Fields Continues
Florida Nurses Affiliate with OPEIU
MNA Nurses at Borgess Win New Patient Protections in 3-Year Contract
Leader of Greek far-right Golden Dawn party jailed pending trial
Tampa city unions ratify labor contracts with three years of raises
NLRB charges UPMC with violations against union-organizing workers
BART Unions Send New Proposal To Management As Deadline Nears
State, unions reach health care deal that includes wellness
Overflowing tank cause of new leak at Fukushima
CUPE national president meets with University of Windsor
US adds 166,000 jobs in September amid 'softening' economic recovery
Ocean acid at 300m-year high
Lavabit Founder Waged Privacy Fight as F.B.I. Pursued Snowden *
Carnegie Hall Opening Gala Canceled Because of Stagehand Strike *
Wall St. Fears Go Beyond Shutdown *

October 2 News Update

Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

UN: Nearly 1,000 Iraqis killed in September
Hennepin County workers step up pressure for fair contracts
IPCC: Global warming is ‘unequivocal’
Big Win for Nurses as Sutter War Ends
This is What a Two-Party Political Train Wreck in Washington Looks Like
Head of VW labor group to meet Tennessee workers
Local Unions to host Troublemaker School
City of Anchorage, unions seek quick court decision
Egypt: Sacked workers occupy minister’s office
Russia charges two Green peace activists with piracy
Federal inmates go on strike to protest pay cuts
First Nations chief issues eviction notice to SWN Resources
Japan’s Nuclear Refugees, Still Stuck in Limbo *
Opening Rush to Insurance Markets Runs Into Snags *
FDA Bans Three Arsenic Drugs Used in Poultry and Pig Feeds *

Congress Locks Out Workers

Congress Locks Out Workers
by Bill Onasch

Federal employees are forbidden by law from striking. In 1981, President Reagan fired virtually all air traffic controllers and decertified their union–who had endorsed him in his Presidential campaign–for defying this repression of a basic human right. But there is no restriction on Congress using the power of the purse to lockout hundreds of thousands of Federal government workers and forcing even more to toil for IOUs.

The workers, as always, are the first victims of such shenanigans as being currently played out in a fierce factional division within the two boss parties. But they are not the only ones suffering.  Nutritional programs for infants and their mothers; Head Start; OSHA workplace inspections; USDA food preparation inspections; most of the work of the Environmental Protection Agency; FAA inspection of aircraft; the Bureau of Labor Statistics are just a few examples of programs totally or mostly shut down. The unconscionable backlog of veteran disability claims is on hold. No new claims for Social Security benefits can be filed. And, of course, national parks, museums, monuments, and the Zoo are now closed to visitors.

We are told many “essential” workers remain on the job. Workers at the Post Office and those processing Social Security payments are still working because they are not paid through Congressional appropriations. Their useful services are completely self-financed through postage or dedicated payroll taxes. This is another exposure of the lie promoted by politicians of both parties in all branches of government that these essential programs are at the heart of  the deficit crisis.

Other workers such as airport security, meat inspection, and those processing passports and visas are on the job because they too are paid by packing employers, airline ticket fees, or fees for travel documents.

Most other workers kept on for essential work will likely be paid with promises instead of cash.

House Republicans claim a powerful mandate from the people–based on the last House election–to stop what they call ObamaCare. This is bogus. When you add up all the votes cast in the last Congressional election the Democrats got more than the GOP. The Republicans skillfully used the majorities they won in many state legislatures in 2010 to redraw congressional districts that enabled their minority party to again win a majority of seats.

I’m no fan of the Affordable Care Act that creates a bonanza for the insurance company robber barons while contributing little to actual health care. We need to replace commodity health care with something at least as good as our Canadian sisters and brothers fought for and won through their labor party.

We need to expose the Affordable Care Act for the fraud it is–and perfidious Democrat “friends” who stuck us with it. But the Republican enemy of ObamaCare is not our friend either.  Their sabotage of government is despicable.

We say to the politicians of both boss parties--End the lockout of workers and curtailment of useful services now!

And, as if we needed another, our side needs to respond to this wake up call by reviving the movement for a party of our own–a Labor Party.

October 1 News Update

Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

After political stalemate, first federal closure in 17 years
How the Government Shutdown Hurts Real People
Union: FAA furloughs airline safety inspectors
Federal employees angry at shutdown turmoil
800,000 Laid Off, Million Work Without Pay *

IPCC report: Human-caused warming is ‘unequivocal’
Wall Street to Earth: ‘We don’t mind and you don’t matter’

Too Smart to Really Fix Our Health Care System, So We Count the Dead
A Single-Payer System, Like Medicare, is the Cure for America's Ailing Healthcare

Judge hears claims BP lied to feds about oil spill
Employee or Independent Contractor? Employer Fraud Costs Workers
Sutter Nurses' Stance and Strikes for Patient Care Pay off with Tentative Pact
UMWA to Appeal Peabody Suit Dismissal
Fighting to Save Jobs, Local 332 Meets with GE
CenturyLink employee says 'nothing redeeming' in rejected labor deal
Judge favored unions in most complaints against Red Cross
Tree planters allege camp conditions akin to slavery
Rexton road blocked by shale gas protesters
Explosion leads to an evacuation at UC Berkeley
Britain to Require Community Service for Long-Term Unemployment Benefits *
Argentine Judge Seeks to Put Franco Officials on Trial *
Illinois: Commuter Trains Collide, Injuring Dozens *
Minnesota: Orchestra Cancels New York Concerts *
Sugar Industry Highlights Conflicts Over Trade Pacts and Land *