WFP 2006 Congressional Candidate Vote Counts

Here's more information on the number of votes cast on the Working Families line in the 2006 election: a district-by-district breakdown of votes by Congressional District (CD).

CD	WFP Candidate	WFP Vote	Candidate Vote	Total Vote	Candidate % of Total Vote	WFP % of Total Vote	WFP % of Candidate's Vote
1	Bishop	4,346	104,360	167,688	62.2%	2.59%	4.16%
2	Israel	3,733	105,276	149,488	70.4%	2.50%	3.55%
3	Mejias	3,674	79,843	181,630	44.0%	2.02%	4.60%
4	McCarthy	3,911	101,861	156,911	64.9%	2.49%	3.84%
5	Ackerman	3,273	77,190	77,190	100.0%	4.24%	4.24%
7	Crowley	3,731	63,997	76,217	84.0%	4.90%	5.83%
8	Nadler	12,421	108,536	127,622	85.0%	9.73%	11.44%
9	Weiner	4,722	71,762	71,762	100.0%	6.58%	6.58%
11	Clarke	12,814	88,334	96,435	91.6%	13.29%	14.51%
12	Velazquez	7,173	62,847	70,029	89.7%	10.24%	11.41%
13	Harrison	2,902	45,131	104,465	43.2%	2.78%	6.43%
14	Maloney	8,100	119,582	141,551	84.5%	5.72%	6.77%
15	Rangel	10,059	103,916	110,508	94.0%	9.10%	9.68%
16	Serrano	2,945	56,124	58,883	95.3%	5.00%	5.25%
17	Engel	4,900	93,614	122,456	76.4%	4.00%	5.23%
18	Lowey	5,215	124,256	175,706	70.7%	2.97%	4.20%
20	Gillibrand	8,752	125,168	235,722	53.1%	3.71%	6.99%
21	McNulty	6,770	159,268	214,356	74.3%	3.16%	4.25%
22	Hinchey	7,316	121,683	121,683	100.0%	6.01%	6.01%
23	Johnson	3,459	62,318	169,099	36.9%	2.05%	5.55%
24	Arcuri	6,544	109,686	201,190	54.5%	3.25%	5.97%
25	Maffei	6,503	107,108	217,633	49.2%	2.99%	6.07%
26	Davis	6,582	100,914	210,171	48.0%	3.13%	6.52%
27	Higgins	8,930	140,027	176,641	79.3%	5.06%	6.38%
28	Slaughter	5,936	111,386	152,230	73.2%	3.90%	5.33%
29	Massa	5,435	100,044	206,121	48.5%	2.64%	5.43%

And here's a geographic look at where WFP votes came from.

I'll post more as it becomes available.

Update: If you're having trouble seeing the right half of the chart then it's formatted so you can copy and paste it into the spreadsheet or database of your choice and view it there.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | 2006 Election | Vote Row E

Jimmy Dahroug endorses Craig Johnson

The Albany Project has the details.

20 more days until Election Day!

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Skelos and Bruno

For those without access, since I believe it's not online, here's the rumor that Liz Benjamin refers to in passing today from Crain's Insider:

"SKELOS AND BRUNO

Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has put a significant contingent to work on the Long Island race to replace Sen. Michael Balboni, and insiders say that Bruno is doing so to protect his interests. They claim he doesn't trust Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Nassau, to go all out for Republican candidate Maureen O'Connell, because Skelos could gain if she loses: Her loss would weaken Bruno's hold on the Senate majority, and Skelos might be able to take control, insiders say. A spokesman for Skelos says the idea is ridiculous. The senator is O’Connell's campaign chair, has given her money and met with her personally to encourage her to run."

20 more days until Election Day!

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Sen Schumer Endorses Craig Johnson for State Senate

Last Sunday, for those that missed it, Chuck Schumer endorsed Craig Johnson for State Senate.

Here's the press release:

SCHUMER, JOHNSON TEAM UP TO LAUNCH 2-PRONGED OFFENSIVE TO LOWER Rx DRUG COSTS

At Federal and State Levels, Schumer and Johnson Vow to Empower Medicare and State to Negotiate With Giant Drug Companies For Best Prices
Seniors and Others Stand To Gain
Schumer Endorses Johnson as the "Best Hope for Reform and Change in Albany"

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer joined Democratic State Senate candidate Craig Johnson in Great Neck on Sunday to formally endorse Johnson and to discuss the need for passing federal and state legislation to lower prescription drug prices. Johnson is a Nassau County Legislator running in a special election scheduled for February 6th.

"I strongly support Craig Johnson's election to the State Senate. New Yorkers are hungry for lower property taxes, affordable health care and responsive government. As State Senator, Craig Johnson will be a force for reform and responsible government," said Schumer.

Schumer and Johnson highlighted the need for immediate action to lower prescription drug prices. Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that requires the federal government to negotiate for lower prices for prescription drugs for the Medicare program. Schumer said he would push the Senate Finance Committee to take up the legislation shortly.

"If your company wants to buy 10 new vans, then Ford Motor gives you a fleet discount. But if the government is buying 10 million pills for people on Medicare, current law actually prevents us from negotiating a discount. It hurts New Yorkers, it hurts seniors around the country, it's outrageous, and it has to stop," Schumer said.

"Allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices with the giant pharmaceutical companies can lead to a drop in drug costs for New York's senior citizens, and it is at the top of the Democrats' agenda," Schumer added

Johnson thanked Schumer's efforts on the federal level, and announced his support for a state-level prescription drug purchasing program. "New Yorkers are fortunate that Sen. Schumer will lead the fight for lower Medicare prescription drug prices. With a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, we're starting to see real change coming out of Washington. We need to change the culture in Albany so New York can act on the state level too," said Johnson.

"Insurance companies and government agencies can negotiate lower drug prices for the people they serve," Johnson said. "But New Yorkers without health insurance have no buying power and they have no one to negotiate on their behalf. The result is higher pharmacy bills for individuals and higher Medicaid costs that increase our property taxes."

Johnson said he would fight for legislation that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has blocked. "We need to change the culture of Albany, so that government works for the people not special interests like the big drug companies. I will be Eliot Spitzer's partner fighting for affordable health care and prescription drugs for every New Yorker."

Johnson called for using New York State's vast bargaining power to reduce the prices the State and individual New Yorkers pays to large drug companies and pharmacy chains for prescription drugs. The concept is similar to one used successfully in the state of Maine. Anticipated savings for New York consumers would average about 30 percent off retail prices. Approximately 1.6 million adults would benefit from the discount prescription drug plan.

Afterwards Schumer and Johnson met voters at Bruce's Bakery.

Schumer, the third ranking democrat in the new majority, is also the Chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and has been widely credited with orchestrating the Democrats' stunning takeover of the United States Senate in 2006. "Craig Johnson is just the kind of person who can jump start in New York the same change that democrats brought to Washington – he is honest, hard working and responsive to the needs of the middle class families that populate this district," said Schumer.

Johnson is a candidate for the 7th Senate District seat vacated by Michael Balboni, the incumbent State Senator. Balboni resigned from his seat to serve as Director of Homeland Security under Governor Spitzer.

The district encompasses the entire town of North Hempstead. It also includes the communities of Elmont, Floral Park, South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, Bellerose, Franklin Square, and part of Hicksville.

21 more days until Election Day!

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Johnson Works, O'Connell Heads Home Early

Last night, while Craig Johnson was rallying supporters and the WFP canvass was knocking on doors and talking to people, Maureen O'Connell was sitting at home.

From Spin Cycle:

"One of Nassau Legis. Craig Johnson's canvassers in the state Senate race ran into Johnson's opponent, Republican County Clerk Maureen O'Connell, after the campaign worker got a little lost Monday evening.

O'Connell had just pulled into a driveway in the East Williston neighborhood when the canvasser, needing directions, approached her. As they talked, the canvasser recognized O'Connell and she realized she was talking to one of her opponent's foot soldiers. They exchanged pleasantries and wished each other luck."

Since the WFP is running the canvass, I can give you the inside story straight from the canvasser who talked to her:

"A little after 5:30, I was trying to find an address on my turf and was looking from the sidewalk at a number on one of the houses from the street to determine if it was on my walk list. A woman saw me looking at her house and came out to ask if she could help me.

I recognized her as Maureen O'Connell as soon as she came out because she had an O'Connell lawn sign and I'm friends with one of her former Assembly opponents. I decided to exchange pleasantries, and we each did some campaigning and talked about the situation in Albany. Then she realized I was part of the WFP canvass campaigning for Craig Johnson, and we wished each other good luck and parted ways. I kept canvassing for the rest of the night and she went back inside."

Gonna have to work harder than that to win this race.

21 more days until Election Day!

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Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

Greyhound Outsources Jobs

Greyhound management wants to outsource jobs from America to other countries so it can cut worker's wages.

In 2004, Greyhound management subcontracted most of it's bus lines between Los Angeles, San Diego and Tijuana to a newly-formed company called Crucero that was also owned by Greyhound. What's the difference between Greyhound and the Greyhound subsidiary? The Greyhound subsidiary outsourced most of its jobs to Mexico so it could cut workers wages by two-thirds.

In 2006, the average Greyhound driver made less than $35,000, with many full time drivers making less than $30,000, and Greyhound admits that one-third of all drivers' work time is unpaid. (It looks like Greyhound drivers are exempt from overtime law.)

In return, Greyhound drivers are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and work more than 16 hours per day. Since 1983, Greyhound drivers have lost more than 60% of their buying power through wage cuts and sub-inflation wage increases. And only 51% of Greyhound drivers and mechanics get health care benefits.

So why outsource? Drivers for Greyhound's subsidiary have none of these benefits and are paid barely more than minimum wage.

Now the Amalgamated Transit Union is bargaining a new nationwide contract with Greyhound and wants Greyhound to agree not to subcontract any of its current miles. For it's part, Greyhound has hired a union-busting law firm, Crowell & Morning.

Please sign a petition of support for Greyhound workers and send a message to Greyhound management not to outsource jobs.

Take action at http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/Greyhound/

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Craig Johnson for State Senate TV Commercial

Here it is, the first Craig Johnson for State Senate TV commercial, done by Spitzer's ad man Jimmy Siegel. It features Governor Eliot Spitzer talking to voters about why they should elect Craig.



This is going to be a close - and expensive - race, but we have a real shot of winning. In 2005, Maureen O'Connell (R) ran in this district for a different office and lost, 31,331 votes to 31,260, while Gov. Spitzer won the district with 66% of the vote in 2006.

If you agree with Eliot Spitzer and want to see Craig Johnson elected to the State Senate then make a donation to elect Craig Johnson now.

Here's the official campaign press release:

JOHNSON CAMPAIGN RELEASES TV AD

Gov. Spitzer Urges Long Islanders to Vote for Craig Johnson in "Special Election"

First Spot Tells Voters: "Finish the Job."

Eliot Spitzer appears in the first TV ad for Democratic State Senate candidate Craig Johnson, telling Long Islanders: "On Jan 1st we offered a new vision of reform outside the state capital. Now we need the votes in the state capital."

Johnson is running in the February 6th special election (the title of the ad) in the 7th State Senate District in Nassau County to fill the seat held by Michael Balboni, who resigned to accept an appointment in the Spitzer administration.

Brian Stedge-Stroud, Johnson's campaign manager, said, "In many ways, this election is the concluding chapter in the campaign for change that so energized New Yorkers in 2006." Appropriately, the ad concludes with the message: "Finish the Job. Vote for Craig Johnson."

The ad was created by Jimmy Siegel, who worked on the victorious 2006 campaigns of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand and State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Stedge-Stroud said the ad would start airing on Tuesday and described the ad's buy as "robust," noting that it would appear on both broadcast and cable stations. The ad may be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIVstBtgZ4k

The script for "Special Election" follows below.

ELIOT SPITZER: It's called a special election. And this one is.

Because those of you who helped bring about a new day in Albany have one more job to do.

There's an open seat in New York's State Senate. And Feb 6th you need to fill it with someone who'll lower your property taxes and raise your expectations. Craig Johnson has been an exemplary County Legislator. He'll be an even better State Senator.

On Jan 1st we offered a new vision of reform outside the state capital. Now we need the votes in the state capital.

SUPER:
Finish the Job
Vote for Craig Johnson
Special Election, February 6th

Share your thoughts in the comments.

23 more days until the election!

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Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

Brian Keeler Endorses Craig Johnson for State Senate

State Senate candidate Brian Keeler, who is now part of The Albany Project, has endorsed Craig Johnson in the February 6th special election for an open seat in the Seventh Senate District. Here's what Brian has to say:

"First of all, I have met Craig and find him to be engaging, energetic and passionate about his job (serving the people of his county legislative district), and, quite frankly, I think he would make a good State Senator for the people in the 7th District. But, what sold me is the fact that he is passionate about reforming the absolute mess in Albany."

Read the rest of Brian's endorsement at The Albany Project.

23 more days until the election!

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Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

Gov Spitzer Formally Endorses Craig Johnson for State Senate

It's official. Today Democratic State Senate candidate Craig Johnson accepted Gov. Eliot Spitzer's endorsement, with Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli looking on.


Here's the press release:

GOV. SPITZER FORMALLY ENDORSES
STATE SENATE CANDIDATE CRAIG JOHNSON

Pushes Agenda for Lower Property Taxes, Health Care Reform and Responsive Government

NORTH HEMPSTEAD -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer formally endorsed Democratic State Senate candidate Craig Johnson in North Hempstead today, saying that electing Johnson will help advance his agenda for lower property taxes, health care reform and responsive government.

Governor Eliot Spitzer said: "I am endorsing Craig Johnson for State Senate because he is the right partner for the great tasks as hand. Together we will help change the culture of Albany, provide property tax relief to the families of Nassau County, reform health care and make government more responsive for all New Yorkers. Craig is a voice for the common-sense changes we need. He will be a great State Senator."

Johnson, a Nassau County legislator, said, "For too long Albany has been operating under a set of rules that favored lobbyists and the well-connected few," Johnson said. "We need to make government work for all of New York and all of Long Island. I will be Governor Spitzer's partner in lowering property taxes, bringing health care costs under control and making government responsive for every New Yorker."

Johnson strongly supports Gov. Spitzer's reform agenda, which includes:

• A three-year, $6 billion property tax reduction focused on those middle class homeowners whose taxes are rising too fast for their incomes to catch up.
• Reducing health care costs by using the state's bargaining power to drive down the price of prescription drugs, aggressively fighting Medicaid fraud and restructuring excess capacity.
• Save millions of dollar each year by eliminating duplicative services and consolidating New York's multiple layers of local government.
• A series of lobbying and campaign finance reforms to reduce the power of special interests.
  

Spitzer and Johnson were joined by other Nassau officials, including County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli and North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman.

Johnson is a candidate for the 7th Senate District seat vacated by Michael Balboni, the incumbent State Senator. Balboni resigned from his seat to serve as Director of Homeland Security under Governor Spitzer. The district, located in the northwest corner of Nassau County on Long Island, encompasses the entire town of North Hempstead. It also includes the communities of Elmont, Floral Park, South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, Bellerose, Franklin Square, and part of Hicksville.

Johnson is Of Counsel at Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman LLP in Garden City. Prior to his association with Jaspan Schlesinger, Craig was an associate at Reisman Peirez & Reisman, LLP and at the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher prior to that.

Craig was raised in Port Washington and attended public schools in the neighborhood. He earned his BA, magna cum laude, from Amherst College and received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from St. John's University School of Law. He lives in Port Washington with his wife Liz, also an attorney, and sons Benjamin and Samuel.

###

26 more days until the election!

Update: More coverage at Capitol Confidential and in an AP story.

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Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

Community Alliance Endorses Craig Johnson for State Senate

"List this one under 'change is good.' Let's keep Maureen O'Connell as Nassau County Clerk, where it is unlikely that she can cause much more damage than has already been done by her GOP predecessors, and elect Craig Johnson to the New York State Senate.

The Community Alliance endorses Craig Johnson for Senate in the 7th SD, and encourages all eligible registered voters to go to the polls on Tuesday, February 6th."

Read the rest and find out more about The Community Alliance.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

First Look at Johnson for State Senate Flyer

Here's a first look at the hot-off-the-presses Craig Johnson for State Senate flyer our field operation started handing out last night.

This election is a sprint from start to finish. Election Day is February 6th, and we need to raise $10,000 online to fund our Get-Out-The-Vote operation.

Make a donation to elect Craig Johnson to the State Senate!

27 days until Election Day!

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

Clinton Calls for Clean Minimum Wage Bill

Senator Clinton issued a clear statement yesterday calling for the Senate to pass a clean minimum wage bill:

"The House sent a strong message of support for working families today by approving the minimum wage increase as a clean, stand-alone bill. The Senate should do the same so that we can speed this critically needed pay increase to working families."

Working Families hopes Sen. Schumer will do the same.

Send a message to both New York's Senators here.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | minimum wage

House Passes Minimum Wage Increase

The U.S. House of Representatives has just passed a clean bill to raise the minimum wage! No strings attached, no new tax breaks for business and no favors to powerful interests - just a fair shake for working families.

The vote was 315 for the bill to 116 against - click the link to see a roll call vote listing how each Rep voted. We're proud that the members of Congress the WFP helped elect in November - including new members Kirsten Gillibrand, Mike Arcuri and John Hall - all did the right thing.

It's been 1997 since the last increase in the minimum wage. This increase will take the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over 26 months. Working families are entitled to a real living wage, and this minimum wage increase is a very good start in that direction.

Now it's the U.S. Senate's turn to pass the same bill as the House. Raising the minimum wage nationwide will help bring working families closer to making ends meet and put more money into the economy. But some Senators are getting distracted and talking about putting budget-busting tax cuts together with a minimum wage increase. That's not the kind of change Americans voted for last November.

Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer are both important leaders in the U.S. Senate. They can make sure the U.S. Senate passes a bill to raise the minimum wage, and make sure that bill is clean and doesn't get loaded down with tax breaks and favors for powerful interests.

Tell Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer to hold the line and pass a clean bill to raise the minimum wage now - with no strings attached - at:

http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/takeaction

All eyes are on the Senate - let's win this one!

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | minimum wage

Working Families Endorses Craig Johnson for State Senate

The Working Families Party is proud to endorse Nassau County Legislator Craig Johnson for State Senate in the 7th Senate District special election on February 6th.

After interviewing both Craig Johnson and Maureen O'Connell, Nassau WFP Chapter members voted overwhelmingly to endorse Craig Johnson. Larry DeAngelis, co-chair of the Working Families Nassau Chapter, had this to say:

"Working families in Nassau County need Craig Johnson in the State Senate to reform Albany, reduce property taxes for working and middle-class families and address pressing needs like better schools and affordable housing. In every election, we interview the candidates and evaluate their positions on the issues that matter most to working families. In this race, we're convinced that Craig Johnson is the best candidate for working families on Long Island."

The Working Families Party will send over 50 organizers into the field to knock on the doors of likely voters every night from now until February 6. Lisa Tyson, another leader of the Working Families Nassau County chapter, lays down the challenge:

"We’re going all out for Craig Johnson in the field, where this campaign will be won."

You can help!

• You can volunteer on the campaign.
• The WFP is hiring for our field operation.
• Make a donation to elect Craig Johnson to the State Senate!

Craig Johnson was raised in Port Washington and attended public schools in the neighborhood. He earned his BA, magna cum laude, from Amherst College and received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from St. John's University School of Law. He lives in Port Washington with his wife Liz, also an attorney, and sons Benjamin and Samuel and is Of Counsel at Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman LLP in Garden City. Prior to his association with Jaspan Schlesinger, Craig was an associate at Reisman Peirez & Reisman, LLP and at the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher prior to that.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | NY-SD7

2006 Hottest Year on Record

It's official: 2006 was the hottest year on record in the U.S. and the sixth warmest year on record worldwide, with temperatures 2.2 degrees warmer than average. December 2006 also set a record here in New York as the warmest December on record.

It's time to do something about global warming.

More on this soon, but it's important to make the point that global warming is happening and it is solvable.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Global Warming | Energy Independence

"The Fair Trade Sweep"

That's the title of a provocative article by Chris Slevin and Todd Tucker, just published in The Democratic Strategist, an online magazine co-edited by William Galston of the Brookings Institution, Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Ruy Teixeira of Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation, and Scott Winship.

As Chris puts it: "The piece highlights how the degree of fair trade/economic progressive messaging played a major role in determining whether individual candidates won or lost and offers several detailed case studies including of top tier, high profile Democratic candidates who distanced themselves from a fair trade message and lost, as well as lower tier candidates who ran more aggressively on trade and won."

Countdown to House Minimum Wage Increase

The U.S. House of Representatives has started the clock on their first 100 hours. The House vote to raise the minimum wage is scheduled for tomorrow the 10th.

After one day, over 650 New Yorkers have taken action to support a clean bill to raise the minimum wage without special favors or budget-busting tax cuts slipped in.

Here are some facts on who a minimum wage increase would help:

• Most of the people working for minimum wage are the main breadwinners for their familes.
• 79% of the people helped by a minimum wage increase are adults
• 56% of the people helped by a minimum wage increase work full time
• 83% of the people helped by a minimum wage increase work over 20 hours a week
• 61% of the people helped by a minimum wage increase are women
  

There's still time to show your support for a clean minimum wage increase at http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/takeaction/

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | minimum wage

WFP 2007 Priorities Survey December results

It's been a month since we started the Working Families Party 2007 Priorities Survey, and here are the latest results. There's still time to take the survey, but we'll be wrapping it up and publicizing the final survey results soon. The percentages don't add up to 100% because only votes for specific issues are listed.

Question 1: Here are six issues where we could win real victories for working families in 2007. Which of these issues do you think the WFP should work on in 2007?

Fair Funding for Education	12.71%
Protecting Health Care in New York	18.59%
Paid Sick Leave	1.71%
Reforming Corporate Subsidies	8.23%
Affordable Housing	13.57%
Environmentally-Smart Building Codes	2.88%

Question 2: Here are five important long-term issues that may not be finished in 2007. Which of these issues do you think the WFP should work on in 2007?

Universal Health Care	39.10%
Progressive Taxation	8.44%
Strengthening Unions	7.05%
Family Friendly Workplaces	3.31%
Energy Independence	9.62%

Question 3: The WFP was formed both to deliver real victories for working families and to change the terms of the public debate over the long term. In 2007, do you think it's more important for the WFP to focus on the fights we can win this year (the first set of issues) or the long term fights (the second set of issues)?

Win real victories in 2007	55.45%
Push long-term issues	34.40%

Question 4: The WFP helped Democrats win key elections in New York, but in the year to come we may have disagreements on specific issues. When there's disagreement on specific issues, do you think the WFP should push the progressive position or support Democratic politicians?

Push the progressive position	80.66%
Support Democratic politicians	9.29%

For more details on the issues in the WFP 2007 Priorities Survey, read WFP Policy Director Josh Mason's blog post on possible WFP issues in 2007.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Topless Democrats: A Trend?

First Spitzer. Now Obama. Maybe it's just a coincidence ... or maybe it's a movement.

To the immediate right, Eliot in Puerto Rico posing in the Daily News. To the extreme right, Barack in Hawaii in this week's People (via the Hotline blog).

Who's next?

America is watching closely.

Give America a Raise With No Strings Attached

Three years ago, Working Families succeeded in raising the minimum wage here in New York state. Because of our work then, today New York's minimum wage is $7.15 an hour, while the federal minimum wage is stalled at $5.15 an hour.

We won't forget our brothers and sisters across the country. Raising the minimum wage nationwide will help 13 million working families come closer to making ends meet and put more money into the economy.

Working Families supported Democrats for Congress in 2006 because, in each case, they were the better candidates. Our votes give us the opportunity to hold them accountable for their promises. The "First 100 Hours" of the new Congress is not too soon for us to start using our power.

With Democrats now running Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this Wednesday to increase the minimum wage and give working families across America a raise. But some politicians are trying to hijack the bill and slip in budget-busting tax cuts.

Across the board, New York's Democratic House members said they would support increasing the minimum wage. Now we need to hold them to their campaign promise and let them know how we want them to vote. The House needs to pass a clean bill to raise the minimum wage with no strings attached – no favors for powerful interests or budget-busting tax cuts.

Tell your U.S. Representative that you want the House to pass a clean bill to raise the minimum wage on Wednesday at

http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/takeaction

Together, we can give America a raise!

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | minimum wage

Back in Action

WFP Blog is back. Look for posts on increasing the minimum wage and updates on the WFP 2007 Priorities Survey. And does anyone else smell the gas smell covering NYC?

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Subway Hero Is Local 79 Shop Steward

The inspiring story of Wesley Autrey, the construction worker who leaped onto subway tracks to save a young man's life has captivated the attention of New Yorkers.

We learn from Laborers' Local 79, that Mr. Autrey is a union member and shop steward:

"Giving a brother or sister a hand up is what our union is all about," said Laborers' General President Terence M. O'Sullivan. "Laborers do that every day on construction sites and in public service, but what Brother Autrey did is simply beyond heroic. His courage fills the hearts of each of the Laborers' Union 700,000 members with pride."

Working Families Response to Spitzer's State of the State

Working Families Responds to State-of-the-State:

Proposed Property Tax Cut a Good First Step But . . .

Pressing Needs Demand Restoring Revenue from Wealthiest NY-ers

New York, NY – The reduction in property taxes paid by working families proposed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer in his State of the State address today is a good first step, but the measures don’t go nearly far enough in restoring progressivity to the overall state and local tax scheme, according to Working Families, an independent political party in New York.

In his State of the State address today, Gov. Spitzer proposed measures to reduce property taxes paid by low-income, working and middle-class families in New York. "Reducing property taxes paid by working families is a good first step towards a much-needed re-allocation of tax distribution in New York," said Dan Cantor, executive director of Working Families.

"The next and most important step is to make sure the wealthiest New Yorkers are really paying their fair share of taxes," Cantor continued. "The State should repeal the upper-income tax cuts passed in the 'Rip Van Winkle' era of Gov. Pataki."

"Gov. Spitzer often claims to take inspiration from Teddy Roosevelt. We also want him to aspire to the ideal of cousin Franklin," said Cantor, referring to the progressive income tax structure that prevalent during the New Deal.

"The 'One New York' reform plan proposed by the Fiscal Policy Institute is an excellent model for comprehensive reform that restores real progressivity to New York's revenue model. Without this kind of reform, it will be extremely difficult to meet the educational needs of low-income school districts, the economic development needs of Upstate and the health care needs of every New Yorker," said Cantor.

Working Families also commented on other aspects of Spitzer's agenda:

• Gov. Spitzer's campaign commitment to meeting the funding needs of New York's public schools "by dramatically increase[ing] investment" is essential to the future economic and social health of the state.
• We share Gov. Spitzer's objective of achieving universal health care in New York and urge the Governor not to compromise that goal with "restructuring" and cuts that actually impair the delivery of health care to those who can least afford it.
• Reform of the workers compensation system that punches holes in the safety net for disabled workers would be a disastrously backward step in social policy.

Working Families is a grassroots, community and labor based political party with chapters throughout New York State. The goal of Working Families is to more forcefully inject the issues of working-class, middle-class, and poor people - like jobs, health care, education, and housing - into the public debate, and hold candidates and elected officials accountable on those issues. Working Families received more than 155,000 votes for Eliot Spitzer for Governor in 2006.

###

Goodyear Strike Settled

Good news: The Steelworkers union voted to approve a new contract at Goodyear. Goodyear workers will be back at work on January 2nd. More than 10,000 members voted and the contract was approved by more than two-to-one. Both a majority of the locals and a majority of the overall membership voted to approve the new contract.

Congratulations!

Solidarity at Goodyear has more. Here's the USW press release:

USW Members at Goodyear Ratify New Three-Year Contract as 86-day Strike Ends

All striking Steelworker to return beginning on January 2

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- The United Steelworkers (USW) announced today that a new contract at Goodyear Tire and Rubber was approved at all Locals and overall by membership by more than a two-to-one margin. More than 10,000 USW-represented members voted at the 12 locations where 14,000 Steelworkers struck on October 5. A majority of the majority principle applied meaning that a majority of the locals as well as a majority of the overall membership voted to accept the Tentative Agreement as the new contract.

"The credit really belongs to our members and their families, whose solidarity prevented the company from short-changing them, despite all of its attempts," said USW International president Leo W. Gerard. "Special thanks go out again to all of our AFL-CIO union affiliates, activist groups, community organizations, businesses and public officials who not only understood our struggle, but stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us."

"It took a strike, but we achieved a fair and equitable contract that protects quality health care for active and retired members," said USWA executive vice president Ron Hoover. "And by winning major capital investment expenditures, it secures our jobs for the future."

The new contract establishes a company-financed trust of more than $1 billion that will secure medical and prescription drug benefits for current and future retirees. Future contributions will include diverted COLA (cost of living allowances) payments and profit-sharing funds. Affordable, high quality medical and prescription drug coverage for its active and retired membership was also maintained.

"To secure jobs, we had to obtain enough money to keep our plants globally competitive," said USW International vice president Tom Conway. "The $550 million in new capital expenditure commitments is the result of our objective of enhancing the ability of USW-represented plants to meet the challenges of the international marketplace."

The new contract that requires Goodyear to rescind its demand for immediate closure of its Tyler, Texas plant, and provides for a one-year period of transition during which workers will have the opportunity to take advantage of sizeable retirement buyouts.

"It's a bittersweet outcome," said Kevin Johnsen, USW-Goodyear Contract Coordinator. "We wanted to win Tyler protected status like the other plants, but we only got it for 2007. Still the company has committed to building the Tyler ticket in USW-plants as long as the company stays in those markets." That commitment will prevent the company from outsourcing that work or servicing this market segment with imports.

The Tentative Agreement was endorsed by the USW's Goodyear Policy Committee, composed of local union leaders from the 12 facilities involved in the contract talks on December 22. Members were presented with a Summary of the Tentative Agreement at informational meetings held on December 27 and 28. The ratification votes also took place on Wednesday and Thursday.

The new contract covers tire and engineered product plants in: Akron, St. Marys and Marysville, Ohio; Gadsden, Ala.; Buffalo, New York; Lincoln, Nebraska; Topeka, Kansas; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Danville, Virginia; Tyler, Texas; Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; and, Union City, Tennessee.

Negotiations between the USW and Goodyear began in June of this year. With a contract expiration date of July 22, 2006 approaching, a day-to-day extension agreement was reached that gave both parties the option of terminating the agreement upon delivering 72-hour notice. Lack of progress in bargaining talks forced the USW to delivered notice on October 2 and 15,000 USW members in 16 plants throughout North America struck on October 5.

The USW represents more than 850,000 members in the U.S. and Canada. Some 70,000 are employed in the tire, rubber and plastics industry.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

155,184 Votes for Working Families in 2006

We're ending the year on a high note. The official numbers are in, and Working Families got 155,184 votes in this year's gubernatorial election. That means we're growing: we recieved 90,533 votes in the last gubernatorial election in 2002.

What's more, Working Families is the only minor party in New York that's growing - the other minor parties saw their vote totals decrease:

Independence Party: 190,661 (down from 654,016)
Conservative Party: 168,654 (down from 176,848)
Working Families: 155,184 (UP from 90,533)

But into each life a little rain must fall. We needed 13,471 more votes to move up to Row D. It's only a matter of time before we get there, and until then the good news is those Row E signs and shirts will work in the next election.

I'll post a detailed breakdown of where WFP votes came from as soon as I get it; until then here's a county-by-county breakdown of the gubernatorial vote (pdf).

That's it for the year, see you in 2007!

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | 2006 Election | Vote Row E

Ending the Year on the Goodyear Picket Line

The year's coming to a close, but before heading home I want to remind everyone about the Goodyear strike.

UPDATE: Good news: the Steelworkers have reached a tentative deal with Goodyear. If members approve the deal, they'll be returning to work around the first of the year.

Workers at Goodyear agreed to concessions in 2003 that led to a billion dollar turnaround at Goodyear. In return, Goodyear's management forced 15,000 skilled workers on strike and replaced them with scabs, even though experts found that tires built by scabs contributed to the 271 deaths associated with rollovers of Ford Explorers.

What's Goodyear after? They want to cut health care coverage, close plants, and outsource more American jobs to China.

Here's video from early December's New York City protest:



Find out more here and here.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Minimum Truth from President Bush

Remember just after election day when President Bush sent signals that he would be willing to sign legislation increasing the minimum wage? Turns out he was keeping his fingers crossed. At his press conference today, Reuters reports:

President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that he supports a Democratic proposal to increase the U.S. minimum wage but said it should be coupled with tax and regulatory relief for small businesses.

"I believe we should do it in a way that does not punish the millions of small businesses that are creating most of the new jobs in our country," Bush told a news conference. "So, I support pairing it with targeted tax and regulatory relief to help these small businesses stay competitive and to help keep our economy growing."

Some recent research from the Fiscal Policy Institute makes it pretty clear that raising the minimum wage doesn't punish anyone.

23 more months of this guy is going to be hard to take.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Minimum Wage

Ari Fleischer for Congress? Christmas Comes Early to NY-19

WFP members share the enthusiasm of The Albany Project about the news that former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer is considering running for Congress in the 19th district against John Hall in 2008.

Another chance to run against the catastrophic Bush record? Jingle all the way!

TWU Contract Settled

The Transit Workers Union has a newfamiliar contract (hat tip to Gothamist). You can't really call it new, because it's basically the same contract from the MTA that the TWU voted to accept - only to have the MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow turn around and waste millions of dollars on legal fees to try and get out of the deal. TWU President Roger Toussaint gets it right:

"Every New Yorker should be furious at Peter Kalikow today . . . Instead of voting on a contract that he signed off on even before the strike was over, Kalikow paid a white shoe law firm nearly $2 million in a pigheaded attempt to embarrass transit workers in arbitration. At the same time he threatens fare hikes and service cuts, Kalikow has no problem wasting your money on nothing."

So now the transit workers have a contract, and Eliot Spitzer is replacing Kalikow with Elliot Sander, one of Spitzer's transportation advisers.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

WFP 2007 Priorities Survey Day 5 results

It's Day 5 of the Working Families Party 2007 Priorities Survey and here are the newest results. The percentages don't add up to 100% because only votes for specific issues are listed.

Question 1: Here are six issues where we could win real victories for working families in 2007. Which of these issues do you think the WFP should work on in 2007?

Fair Funding for Education	11.24%
Protecting Health Care in New York	17.60%
Paid Sick Leave	2.06%
Reforming Corporate Subsidies	9.18%
Affordable Housing	12.36%
Environmentally-Smart Building Codes	2.06%

Question 2: Here are five important long-term issues that may not be finished in 2007. Which of these issues do you think the WFP should work on in 2007?

Universal Health Care	37.08%
Progressive Taxation	8.24%
Strengthening Unions	6.18%
Family Friendly Workplaces	2.81%
Energy Independence	8.80%

Question 3: The WFP was formed both to deliver real victories for working families and to change the terms of the public debate over the long term. In 2007, do you think it's more important for the WFP to focus on the fights we can win this year (the first set of issues) or the long term fights (the second set of issues)?

Win real victories in 2007	52.43%
Push long-term issues	36.89%

Question 4: The WFP helped Democrats win key elections in New York, but in the year to come we may have disagreements on specific issues. When there's disagreement on specific issues, do you think the WFP should push the progressive position or support Democratic politicians?

Push the progressive position	78.84%
Support Democratic politicians	9.93%

For more details on the issues in the WFP 2007 Priorities Survey, read WFP Policy Director Josh Mason's blog post on possible WFP issues in 2007.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

WFP 2007 Priorities Survey Day 1 results

Here are the Day 1 results of the Working Families Party 2007 Priorities Survey. The percentages don't add up to 100% because votes for "All of the Above" aren't listed.

Question 1: Here are six issues where we could win real victories for working families in 2007. Which of these issues do you think the WFP should work on in 2007?

Fair Funding for Education	11.61%
Protecting Health Care in New York	17.60%
Paid Sick Leave	3.00%
Reforming Corporate Subsidies	10.11%
Affordable Housing	13.11%
Environmentally-Smart Building Codes	1.50%

Question 2: Here are five important long-term issues that may not be finished in 2007. Which of these issues do you think the WFP should work on in 2007?

Universal Health Care	37.83%
Progressive Taxation	7.12%
Strengthening Unions	4.49%
Family Friendly Workplaces	3.00%
Energy Independence	8.99%

Question 3: The WFP was formed both to deliver real victories for working families and to change the terms of the public debate over the long term. In 2007, do you think it's more important for the WFP to focus on the fights we can win this year (the first set of issues) or the long term fights (the second set of issues)?

Win real victories in 2007	54.31%
Push long-term issues	34.46%

Question 4: The WFP helped Democrats win key elections in New York, but in the year to come we may have disagreements on specific issues. When there's disagreement on specific issues, do you think the WFP should push the progressive position or support Democratic politicians?

Push the progressive position	84.27%
Support Democratic politicians	7.12%

For more details, read WFP Policy Director Josh Mason's blog post on possible WFP issues in 2007.

If you haven't taken the Working Families Party 2007 Priorities Survey yet then do it now at http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/survey/

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WFP 2007 Priorities Survey

The Working Families Party doesn't win elections only to elect candidates. We build electoral power to make a difference in the lives of poor, working and middle-class New Yorkers.

Now, the WFP wants to make sure you are involved in deciding what comes next in 2007.

That's why we've launched the WFP 2007 Priorities Survey. Vote now on what issues you think the Working Families Party should work on in 2007 at
http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/survey/

Yesterday, WFP Policy Director Josh Mason blogged in detail about the issues under consideration for 2007.

Now is your turn to weigh in - the Working Families Party 2007 Priorities Survey lets you vote for the issues you support or write in your own. Vote now!

And look for an update on the voting later today.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Yellow Rat Bastard Is Living Up To Its Name

Yellow Rat Bastard and its affiliated stores (Antique Orange, Boys and Chicks, FAT Jeans, Rubber Sole, Sloppy Joe Dirty Jane, Tempo, Yellow Rat Bastard Queens, and Yellow Rat Bastard Cedarhurst) are under investigation by the New York State Attorney General's office for serious wage and hour violations. This comes after Yellow Rat Bastard owner Henry Ishay's arrest for failure to maintain the minimum payroll records required by New York State Labor Law.

For those not familiar, Yellow Rat Bastard sells expensive hipster t-shirts (it calls them "teez").

The Retail Action Project estimates that Yellow Rat Bastard and owner Henry Ishay could owe workers as much as $2 million in back wages.

So this Sunday, December 17, retail workers will hold a march and rally demanding a living wage and improved working conditions in Lower Broadway shops throughout SoHo and NoHo.

WHO: Retail workers, primarily young Latino, Asian and African New Yorkers and African and West Indian immigrants; community, religious and political leaders; the Retail Action Project, Good Old Lower East Side and RWDSU/UFCW; and you

WHAT: Speakers will include both current and former employees of a number of shops, including Yellow Rat Bastard, OMG, David Z and Portobello, and will highlight poverty wages, unsanitary conditions and abusive managers.

WHERE: The rally is at 478 Broadway (between Broome and Grand). The march will start at the rally and head to Broadway and 7th Street.

WHEN: Sunday, December 17, starting at 1:30 pm

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Where Do We Go From Here?

With elections behind us, it's time to think about next year's issue campaigns. We're considering a whole range of campaigns -- some where we think we can score real victories in the coming year, and some that are long-term efforts to move the debate. Below are some of the issues we're considering. A poll is up will be going up soon; in the meantime feel free to comment on these (or suggest more!) here.

Winnable Issues for 2007

Fair Funding for Schools. New York's courts have repeatedly ruled that the state needs to increase funding for New York City schools to fulfill its Constitutional duty to provide a decent education for every New York child, but the Pataki administration has refused to comply. Governor Spitzer has pledged to give New York and other struggling school districts the fair funding they need. The role of the WFP is to make sure he holds out for the full amount and help him get the funding increase through the legislature.

Protecting Health Care. State government is proposing to close dozens of hospitals, working families continue to lose employer-sponsored insurance, and there is talk of deep cuts in Medicaid benefits. The WFP's role is to preserve health insurance for working New Yorkers, and to increase the number of eligible workers and children enrolled in public programs.<>Paid Sick Days. Hundreds of thousands of New York workers do not have a single paid day off for illness a year, and millions more cannot use them to care for a sick child or parent. New York should require employers to provide paid sick days.

Reforming Corporate Subsidies. New York's system of "economic development" tax breaks are wasteful, poorly targeted, lack a track record of creating jobs, and do not impose any meaningful standards on businesses that receive them. The WFP supports creating clear, binding job-creation and wage standards for IDA subsidies.

Affordable Housing. The WFP supports strengthening rent regulations in New York City to preserve the existing stock of affordable housing and in other areas – especially the suburbs – the WFP supports "inclusionary zoning" laws that will encourage developers to include a percentage of affordable units in any new development.

Environmentally-Smart Building Codes. An easy way to clean up our environment, create jobs and reduce reliance on imported oil is to bring buildings in line with the latest environmental standards. As a first step, government should require high levels of energy efficiency in its own buildings.


Long-term campaigns

Universal Health Care. Our health care system leaves millions of New Yorkers uninsured and millions more with insecure coverage, while driving up costs for everyone. The only long-term solution is to move to a single, universal health insurance program covering everyone.

Progressive Taxation. New York State has the greatest gap between rich and poor of any state in the nation. One reason is that we have drastically cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, while raising the taxes paid by working families, like property and sales taxes. A comprehensive tax reform program would provide tax relief for working New Yorkers by reversing some of the recent cuts for the best-off.

Strengthening Unions. Unions are necessary to counterbalance the power of employers and defend the interests of workers. The right to join a union is fundamental to a free society, but federal labor law fails to protect that right. Federal reform is need, and in the meantime New York state can to more to make sure workers who want to join a union are able to do so.

Family Friendly Workplaces. It's too hard for working families to balance the demands of work and caring for their loved ones. In addition to paid sick days, the state should establish a system of Paid Family Leave like California's and do more to support affordable childcare.

Energy Independence. We need a new "Apollo Program" to develop sustainable energy sources, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, increase energy efficiency and create 21^st-century jobs in New York.

Now it's your turn to weigh in - take the WFP 2007 Priorities Survey.

Bill Thompson's Badge of Honor

New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson should be proud of the badge of honor awarded by the Post's editorial page today.

The right-wing loonies accused Thompson of playing politics with his office ("It's never too early to pander to organized labor when you're considering a run for the mayor's office") because he has had the audacity to express concern about Wal-Mart's anti-worker practices:

He wrote that he was "extremely troubled by all of the negative reports and allegations that have surfaced in recent years and concerned they will have a long-term negative impact on the reputation of the company."

Kudos to Thompson for understanding the potential risks to the city's pension funds from investing in a company under siege for its business practices. In fact, Wal-Mart has not been a big winner in recent years. The adjacent graph charts its share price over the last five years.

The Post's got a problem with Thompson's vigilance? Wear it proudly, Mr. Comptroller.

Father Guido Sarducci and Antonia Novello

RELATED!

I did not know that. Wikipedia notes that Pataki's health commissioner and former U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello is the sister-in-law of Don Novello, the comic actor who played Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live.

Maybe Novello's new $13,000 taxpayer-funded portrait will highlight the resemblance.

Santorum Supports Labor Movement?

Quite surprising to read that outgoing U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa) came out strongly in favor of a bus drivers' strike, even calling for strike funding. Yup, here's what he said on Imus this morning:

For example, there was a bus driver strike a few weeks ago in.... We did nothing to support it; we should have. We should of quietly gone in there and given them a whole boatload of money so they could sustain the strike and continue to cause unrest....

What's the catch? The words excerpted out by the first ellipses above were: "IN IRAN."

Card Check: Will Congress Do It?

Should deciding whether to form a union be dragged out for years? Congress will have the chance to answer that question when it takes up the issue of card check union campaigns.

Allowing workers to form a union through a card check process basically means when a majority of employees sign a union card they form a union. The current process now can get so bogged down in litigation that it can drag out for years and be settled in the courts or by public opinion instead of being decided by workers. Card check puts the choice to join a union back in the hands of workers where it belongs, and eases the path to the middle class for those who have the opportunity to unionize.

A story in today's Wall Street Journal is pessimistic that the Employee Free Choice Act can pass the Senate, and forecasts a certain veto by President Bush.

What do you think? Will Congress simplify the process and pass card check?

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Where WFP Votes Came From

We're up to 151,953 votes on the Working Families Party line with about a week and a half to go before the vote count is completed and certified. That's up from 90,533 votes in the last gubernatorial election in 2002.

I want to share information on where in the state those votes are coming from (all based on unofficial returns). These charts and maps are pretty detailed so you might need to click on the chart or map you're reading to see a bigger version.

First overall turnout:

• 2002 : 5 million voters overall
  
• 2004 : 7.5 million voters overall
• 2006 : 4 million voters overall

Here is the broad breakdown of where the WFP's 2006 votes came from:

New York City (in red) 74,221 votes, 49%
Upstate (in yellow) 55,437 votes, 36%
Metro Suburbs (in blue) 22,295, 15%

For comparison here's that same breakdown of the WFP's 2002 votes:

New York City (in red) 53,557 votes, 59%
Upstate (in yellow) 24,901 votes, 28%
Metro Suburbs (in blue) 12,075, 13%

And the WFP's 2004 votes:

New York City (in red) 67,593 votes, 40%
Upstate (in yellow) 69,141 votes, 41%
Metro Suburbs (in blue) 31,985, 19%

Our gubernatorial vote in New York City continues to go up, while the proportion of our vote from Upstate and in the Metro Suburbs is growing (comparing 2006 to 2002) .

Here's a county-by-county breakdown of where the WFP's 2006 vote came from. You'll probably need to click on this chart to be able to read it.

This map shows a county-by-county breakdown of the WFP's percentage of the vote total (so if 100 people voted and 5 voted on the WFP line that's 5%). The redder a county the higher the WFP percentage of the vote in that county.
This map goes county-by-county and shows the change of the WFP's percentage of the vote total from 2002 to 2006. The darker the county, the more the WFP percentage of the vote increased in that county.

Now it's your turn: what do you make of this information?

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | 2006 Election | Vote Row E

Vietnam Trade Redux

Republicans in Congress are scrambling to extend unfair trade arrangements before ceding power to Democrats at the end of the year.

Congress rejected the Bush administration deal to "normalize" trade with Vietnam one week after election day. But that isn't stopping Ways and Means Chair Bill Thomas from trying to get a second bite at the apple.

The Vietnam deal would not help working families in the United States or Vietnam. As AFL-CIO Legislation Director William Samuel said in a letter to House members:

[O]ur trade relations with Vietnam should remain governed by existing agreements until such time that Vietnam takes meaningful steps to bring practice and law regarding workers' rights into compliance with international standards.

The Bush administration and their congressional cronies also have eyes on winning passage of a new bilateral deal with Peru that is notable for what the Sierra Club calls "token, unenforceable provisions on labor and the environment."

The 2006 elections sent a signal that voters in key states like Ohio and Pennsylvania (as well as New York) will no longer tolerate a trade policy that favors profits for multinationals over jobs for Americans. The Miami Herald's headline ("Democrats won big by opposing free-trade agreements") only slightly overstates the case.

Democrats and Republicans who have voted for one-sided free trade deals in the past should read the tea leaves and resist Rep. Thomas and the lobbying of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The voters have spoken.

20 years and All I Got Was This Lousy Shirt: The Annals of Wal-Mart

The New York Times ran an article on Wal-Mart with what one can only imagine is the sarcastic headline, "Wal-Mart Says Thank You to Workers." So just how does the management team at Wal-Mart say thank you to their workers? From the article:

The program includes several new perks "as a way of saying thank you" to workers, like a special polo shirt after 20 years of service and a "premium holiday," when Wal-Mart pays a portion of health insurance premiums for covered employees.

Any ideas on what makes a polo shirt special?

The article goes on to talk about new policies at Wal-Mart:

Wal-Mart has sought to create a cheaper, more flexible labor force by capping wages, using more part-time employees, scheduling more workers at nights and weekends, and cracking down on unexcused days off.
. . .
the new attendance policy, which originally called for disciplinary action after three unauthorized absences (although it was later revised to four unexcused absences).

Asked if absence for a family emergency, like a sick child, would be authorized, Mr. Uselton recounted, the manager said, "No, it’s not."

So if your kid gets sick and you miss work to take care of them you can get fired, but in exchange if you make it 20 years you get a polo shirt? Now I really want to know what makes that shirt so special! Back to the article to find out:

Other perks, like a shirt that states length of employment in five-year increments starting with 20 years of service, appear designed to build morale, but might do the opposite.

I think low pay and lack of health insurance have more to do with low morale at Wal-Mart than those "special" shirts. But with sales at Wal-Mart falling, the chickens are coming home to roost. An article in Business Week talks about how Wal-Mart management's poor treatment of their workers is hurting the company's bottom line:

One question on the minds of some retail experts: Is Wal-Mart's reputation hurting sales? After all, last year consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that 2% to 8% of the company's customers have stopped shopping there "because of negative press they have heard." And that was before the negative publicity campaigns by two of its most vociferous opponents - union-funded groups Wal-Mart Watch and WakeUpWalmart.com. This year both groups have ramped up their attacks on Wal-Mart, calling on the company to provide a "living wage and affordable health care" for employees

Read more on what WakeUpWalMart has in store this holiday season.

And check out what Wal-Mart workers have to say.



I'll give the final word to Saturday Night Live.



Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Will Global Warming Turn New York Into Georgia?

Upstate New York could be in for Georgia-style summers if we don't do something about global warming. That's the conclusion from scientists speaking at a regional conference on global warming.

"Global warming is having a significant impact on the Hudson Valley and could prompt even more dramatic changes if greenhouse gas emissions go unchecked, a broad-ranging group of environmentalists and scientists warned yesterday.

In fact, summers in upstate New York could resemble those in present-day Georgia or South Carolina by the end of the century, and the frequency of 100-degree days in a chilly city like Buffalo could increase from once every two years to 14 days a year."

And Buffalo would get off light with 14 100 degree days a year - New York City is in line to see 25 days where the temperature tops 100 degrees.

But that's only if we don't take action. If we're smart about it and push solutions like clean energy then we can create jobs while we fight global warming.

What do you think we should do?

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Global Warming

Goodyear Protest Pictures

Last Friday, New Yorkers gathered outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan to show support for striking steelworkers protesting Goodyear's shoddy treatment of America's workers, retirees and communities. Here are the pictures.

Costumed protesters hand out flyers to passerby on the street.



Here's the flyer they were passing out.


Other protestors got support from passing drivers.


Here are pictures of the stage from as close up as I could get.



Saba, Rasheedah and Theo put their whistles to good use.


Tell Goodyear to do the right thing. Show your support online at http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/takeaction/

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Reminder: Protest Goodyear Today

If you're going to be near the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan after work or passing by on your commute then stop and show your support for striking steelworkers protesting Goodyear's shoddy treatment of America's workers, retirees and communities.

WHAT: Show your support for striking Goodyear workers
WHEN: Friday, December 1st, from 5pm to 7pm
WHERE: outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan, between 49th and 50th Streets

If you can't be there in person then be there in spirit: take a moment to show your support online at http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/takeaction/

I'll have an update (with pictures) after the protest.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party