High Speed New York

There's a good discussion on Assemblyman Brodsky and Senator Leibell's Telecommunications Reform Act (A.3980B/S.5124) going on over at The Albany Project. This is a bill the Working Families Party supports. Here are two reasons why:

1. Telecom companies are moving away from the copper wires that form our current communications infrastructure toward high speed fiber optic wires. If you've seen Verizon's ads for FIOS, that's what they're talking about. To switch from copper wire to fiber optic wire, that wire has to be laid out first and homes need to be wired to it.
   
   The emerging trend is that high income places are getting wired and the rest of us are getting left out. Are you living in a luxury condo? You get fiber optic cable. Are you a working family? No dice. Are you upstate? Forget about it. Brodsky's bill would change that and stimulate development of universal broadband.


2. The transition from copper to fiber optics is opening up new business opportunities. That's drawing new companies like Vonage into the telecom business. These new entrants aren't regulated under the existing system and aren't held to the same service requirements. What does that mean in practice? No guarantee of 911 emergency phone service is one example.
   

If we want a 21st century economy - and the good jobs that come with it - we need a 21st century communications system. We're not there. The United States ranks 16th in the world in broadband penetration - and our rank is getting lower when it should be getting higher.

Universal high speed internet service is a cornerstone of 21st century communications. New York needs to be out front on this, and needs to take charge in managing this transition so that everyone is included in a high speed New York.

Head over to The Albany Project for more - and be sure to read the comments section too.

Save the Date, May 23rd Affordable Housing Rally

Always complaining about the cost of housing in New York? Do something about it. An unprecedented coalition including the Working Families Party, labor unions, and nearly every housing organization in New York City has united to form New York is Our Home.

We're launching a massive, grassroots campaign to break the logjam in Albany and protect our homes. And we're kicking things off with a rally and march at Stuy Town in Manhattan on May 23rd.

We're holding the rally at Stuy Town, but it's a rally for everyone in New York City. It's a rally about the threat to Starrett City. It's about the nearly 1.5 million existing affordable units we're at risk of losing. It's about what's happening to housing prices all over New York City and the rising price of housing that we're all struggling with.

Will New York City be taken over by luxury condos? New York Is Our Home believes in a New York City in which working families have just as much right to live as hedge fund managers. This is your chance to stand up and be counted.

Send the message that New York Is Our Home! RSVP today!

What: "Hands Around Stuy Town" Affordable Housing March and Rally.

Why: Because rent is out of control, and New York Is Our Home!

When: Wednesday, May 23rd, at 5pm sharp

Where: Stuyvesant Town between 14th and 23rd Street on 1st Avenue in Manhattan

Who: You and 6,000 other New Yorkers who care about affordable housing and are willing to stand up and be counted.

How: RSVP today!

Mission, um, Accomplished?

Four years after Bush landed on an aircraft carrier to tell us that the mission in Iraq was accomplished, he's vetoed Congress' supplemental budget bill for Iraq.

Congressional Republicans are so far siding with Bush to uphold the veto. But they're not also starting to hedge their bets:

"There are some types of benchmarks that might well achieve bipartisan support and might actually even conceivably be helpful to the efforts in Iraq," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

But Republicans were reluctant to say whether they supported benchmarks with real consequences. Some said they would support tying benchmarks to foreign aid to Iraq totaling more than $5 billion but nothing that would tie the hands of military commanders.

"It depends on what the benchmarks are and what the consequences are," said Trent Lott of Mississippi, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate.

Even as they win more public support, Congressional Democrats don't yet have the votes to override Bush's veto. So they're discussing what comes next:

Hoyer was reluctant to say exactly what the bill will look like, but said he anticipates a minimum-wage increase will be part of it. He also said the bill should fund combat through Sept. 30 as Bush has requested, casting doubt that Democratic leaders would adopt a proposal by Rep. John Murtha, R-Pa., to fund the war two or three months at a time.
. . .
The party's most liberal members, especially in the House, say they will vote against money for continuing the war if there's no binding language on troop drawdowns. The bill Bush rejected would require the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.
. . .
Numerous possible compromises are being floated on Capitol Hill, all involving some combination of benchmarks. Some would require Bush to certify monthly that the Iraqi government is fully cooperating with U.S. efforts in several areas, such as giving troops the authority to pursue extremists. Others would require an Iraqi-run program to disarm militias and a plan to distribute oil revenues fairly among the various population groups.

The key impasse in Congress is whether to require redeployments of U.S. troops if the benchmarks are not met. Many Democrats insist on it, and many Republicans vow not to budge. It's far from clear whether Bush would accept such an approach.

Under one proposal being floated, unmet benchmarks would cause some U.S. troops to be removed from especially violent regions such as Baghdad. They would redeploy to places in Iraq where they presumably could fight terrorists but avoid the worst centers of Sunni-Shia conflict.

Still another possibility would change the bill that Bush vetoed only by allowing the president to waive the redeployment requirements under certain conditions

A new spending bill "has got to be tied to redeployment," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., the House's fourth-ranking Democratic leader. Emanuel conceded, however, that Democrats have yet to figure out where they will find the votes.

What do you think will happen?

Iraq Supplemental: Veto Watch

Congress is close to passing the Iraq supplemental budget bill, which Bush will promptly veto. And then? From the Washington Post:

House Democrats are beginning to coalesce around a $19 billion bill -- enough to fund the war for about 60 days -- without any withdrawal dates, according to aides. The measure would include additional funds for military health care; new standards for resting, training and equipping troops before deployment; and prohibitions on torture and permanent bases in Iraq. Benchmarks would be included, but with no punishments for failing to meet them.

The idea would be to pass the measure quickly, as soon as early next week, to deprive Bush of the argument that Democrats are withholding needed funds from the troops. Then negotiations would begin immediately on yet another bill.

Congressional Democrats have the backing of the American public to end the war. They'd be in a better position now if they had taken the popular position from the start, held by the Working Families Party and many others, and used the power of the purse to limit the use of funds to protecting our troops' safety and bringing them home. Still, they're taking steps toward ending the war.

How do you think this plays out?

Honor the Peacemakers

Congratulations go out to the Capital District WFP Chapter. The Chapter honored Congressman Michael McNulty, Albany District Attorney David Soares and Community Activist Charles LaCourt last week at their annual fundraiser. The keynote speaker was Anne Mulderry from September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.

An extra round of applause for the Fundraising Committee. This team of members made the night a HUGE success - turning out 227 Chapter members, local elected officials, labor leaders and peace activists and raising $20,000. Here they are:

• Mike Iannone for countless hours of phone calls.
• Ed Hennessy for his dedication in reaching out to labor and proofreading all the honoree bios.
• Steve Redler for his wealth of experience and willingness to impart all that he knew knew to the rest of the committee.
• Anita Thayer for her poise under pressure and stressful situations.
• Nina Esaki for her constant optimism amidst adversity - and willingness to do turnout calls even while at the airport!
• And "Mike" Michelson who dedicated every spare second to making this event a success, even though she wasn't even ON the committee. Her relationships in the peace community helped with turnout and delivered a phenomenal keynote speaker.

And I want to share the closing lines Anne Mulderry keynote speech:

"I have hoped that the great blessings of freedom that we have been given as citizens of the United States would not be abused, but would be vibrantly employed to urge the citizenry ever further toward our country's highest ideals. The Working Families Party marches under that banner.

I thank you all for doing what you do, and I thank you, too, for inviting me here tonight to be a part of what you do."

It's worth reading the whole speech.

For me, the highlight of the event was when the young lady tending the bar approached me after the program. She told me she hed been moved by our program and asked how she could sign up to become a member. We welcome Yolanda to our Chapter with open arms!

The New York State Working Families Party Spring Gala is this Thursday, May 3rd. Buy your ticket today!

Jobs and Energy Forum in Upstate NY - Tomorrow!

Tomorrow's the day. The Center for Working Families is hosting a Jobs and Energy Forum for elected officials in Upstate New York. The forum will bring together local and county elected officials and legislative staff with a panel of policy experts to talk about local legislation ranging from green building codes to renewable power standards to energy efficient purchasing standards.

Here's a list of elected officials coming to the event:

• Adam McFadden, Albany City Council
• Ray Joyce, Albany County Legislature
• David Dempsey, Auburn (City)
• George Farenthold, Aurora Town Board
• Dominic Frongillo, Caroline
• Daniel Schuster, Cayuga
• Jessica Zambrano, Cicero Town Board
• Richard Keller-Coffey, Dutchess
• William Pauly, Erie
• Russ Carey, Fenner
• Elizabeth Moran, Madison
• John Heindorf, North Syracuse
• Mark Atkinson, North Syracuse (Village)
• Rose Ann Convertino, Oneida
• William Morehouse, Oneida
• Frank Puma, Oneida
• Tom Buckel, Onondaga
• Luz Encarnacion, Onondaga
• Dale Sweetland, Onondaga
• Sam Laguzza, Onondaga County Legislature
• Fred Beardsley, Oswego
• Leonard Ponzi, Oswego
• Philip Durkin, Otsego
• Tom Wood, Plattsburgh
• Angela Petty, Rome
• Mike Giarusso, Salina Town Board
• Thomas David, Seneca Falls (Town)
• Jim Williams, Skaneateles
• Bill Simmons, Syracuse Common Council
• Mike McMahon, Syracuse Common Council
• Tom Seals, Syracuse Common Council
• Kathy Luz Herrera, Tompkins
• Pamela Mackesey, Tompkins
• Duane Tyke Randall, Tompkins
• Clem Campana, Troy City Council
• Frank Dart, Ulster
• Daniel DiBella, Utica
• Joel Tyner, Duchess

Speakers include:

• Mike Allen, UAW
  
• Steve Bellone, Town of Babylon Supervisor
• Lisa Donner, Center for Working Families Co-Director
• Rhea Jezer, LCV and Cazenovia College
• Josh Mason, Working Families Party
• Bob Muldroon, Sierra Club
• Gay Nicholson, NYSERDA
  
• Rick Opedesiano, UAW and Central New York WFP Chapter Chair
  
• Satya Rhodes-Conway, Apollo Strategy Center, Madison WI Alderperson
• Deirdre Schifeling, Center for Working Families Co-Director
• Bill Simmons, Syracuse Common Council, Public Works Committee Chair

and a keynote address from Rick Fedrizzi, President of the National Green Building Council.

Queens Borough Meeting

Last night a diverse coalition of tenants and affordable housing advocates met at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens as part of the Queens Affordable Housing Borough Meeting. Marilyn Charles captured the mood of the crowd with her story: "I have lived in Queens for over 30 years. As a longtime resident, I fear the impact that bad rent laws and sky-high rents are having on me and my community. We need an affordable place to live." The New York is Our Home citywide campaign is organizing tenants to fight to preserve affordable housing in New York by changing unfair rent regulation laws. Marilyn's story is already to common. From 2002 to 2005, rents increased citywide by 10 percent. And if we don't act now, it will become even more common. Over the next ten years, the City will lose an estimated 300,000 affordable apartments. There's a looming exodus of working families from New York City. The Queens Borough Meeting was one in a series of meetings happening across the city, all leading up to a massive rally May 23rd expected to draw thousands of New Yorkers that will highlight these troubling trends. The May 23rd rally is at the Stuyvesant Town public housing development in Manhattan. Rally participants will demand protections for the rapidly dwindling City supply of affordable housing. I'll give the last word to Julie Miles of Housing Here & Now, Director of the New York Is Our Home Campaign: "Securing the hundreds of thousands of affordable units that we are losing is the most important action government leaders can take to solve the affordable housing crisis."

Affordable Housing Borough Meetings Happening Now

Queens Affordable Housing Borough Meeting details Wednesday, April 25 - Tonight! 6:30pm Queens Borough Hall in Room 213, 120-55 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens Meeting in Spanish and English Tenants, affordable housing advocates, clergy, Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblyman Jose Peralta and Councilman Joseph Addabbo are meeting tonight as part of the Queens Affordable Housing Borough Meeting. We'll talk about increasing rents and the decreasing number of available affordable apartments and discuss ways to preserve affordable housing in New York by changing unfair rent regulation laws. Tonight's Queens Borough Meeting is part of a series of Affordable Housing Borough Meetings going on now. Over 200 people came to the Bronx Affordable Housing Borough Meeting last week. I've posted pictures from the meeting to the right and on flickr. If you've got pictures of your own, share them with everyone by posting them on flickr and tagging them "NewYorkIsOurHome" Some of the groups that came to the Bronx Borough Meeting include the Working Families Party, CASA, NWBCCC, Tenants & Neighbors, CVH, NYCAHN, ACORN, CB #4, Sheridan Ave Coalition, Twin Parks TA, MOM, Bronx Pentecostal Food Pantry, Zion Faith D.L.U., Concourse Village Inc. Mitchell Lama Residents, POTS, 1889 Sedgwick Ave TA, BHNCC, PTH, NIDC, Picture the Homeless, RAIN, NYC Labor Chorus, Skyview TA, Youth CAHN, UHAB, Nos Quedamos, CB #2, Housing Council Pct, Soundview Senior Center, United We Stand Tenant Association, South Bronx Action Group, Janel Towers TA, and the National Alliance of HUD tenants: Low Income Housing Coalition. Elected officials in attendance included NYC Councilmember Joel Rivera, NY State Senator Jose Serrano and staff from Assemblymember Jose Rivera's office, Public Advocate Betsey Gotbaum's office, Assemblymember Aurelia Greene's office, NYC Councilmember Anabel Palma's office and Councilmember Maria Carmen del Arroyo's office. There are three more upcoming Borough Meetings, all leading up to a May 23rd "Hands Around Stuy-Town" rally where thousands of New Yorkers will demand protections for New York City's rapidly dwindling supply of affordable housing. Which Borough Meeting are you coming to?

Iraq Supplemental: What Next

Congress is scheduled to vote this week on the final version of the Iraq supplemental budget bill. The bill stops short of using the power of the purse to limit the use of funds to protecting our troops' safety and bringing them home, which is the Working Families position. But it still takes steps toward bringing our troops home. That's enough for Bush to threaten to veto the bill. And that means we're approaching another moment of truth in the debate over Iraq.

Rep. Jim McDermott gets it right when he says:

"My feeling is at a certain point we're going to have a 'come-to-Jesus' moment in the caucus and talk about whether you fund (the war) or not."

Exactly right. Now is the time to hold fast to our principles.

Tell your U.S. Representative to limit the use of funds to protecting our troops' safety and bringing them home now.

Congratulations to the Fingerlakes WFP Chapter

After 3 months of work, the Fingerlakes WFP Chapter held their chapter elections last week.

Congratulations to the Fingerlakes Steering Committee members:

• Rosemary Rivera from Metro Justice
• Mike Patterson from Metro Justice
• community activist Mazie White
• Dan Power from CWA
• Frank Besser from PEF
• Eric Martin from UAW
• Kevin Kolb from UAW
• Patrick Christopher from UAW
• Renee Simmons from UAW
• Jesse Lenney from Unite HERE!
• Frank Gehan from Unite HERE!

And a big thank you to Dan Maloney, Tony Bernardo, Eric Martin, Dan Power and Bob Trowski for their leadership in the rebuilding process.

Bloomberg Proposes Congestion Pricing

Mayor Bloomberg was the story this Earth Day as he made official his congestion pricing proposal.

The basics of congestion pricing are to charge an $8 toll for driving in the most congested part of Manhattan during the day. The money raised would be used to expand mass transit so it runs more frequently and to more places. You can read more details in the Daily Politics and the Politicker.

Reaction has been come quickly. What do you think?



Update: Read Bloomberg's speech or watch it on video.

WFP Calls for Judicial and Legislative Pay Raises

The Working Families Party agrees with the growing call for judicial pay raises. Calling this an issue that is "fundamentally about valuing government," Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor spoke in support of both judicial and legislative pay raises:

"It's not just that New York State judges haven't gotten a raise in eight years, although that's bad enough. The issue goes deeper.

Public service – both in the judiciary and in our state legislature – is critical if we are going to successfully address the shared challenges that New York faces. Through government we work together to address collective issues, from growing income inequality to climate change, from the crisis of affordable housing in New York City to job loss upstate. And it's through government that we express our common dreams for a decent and just society. So while those who serve in government shouldn't get rich doing it, they should receive compensation that matches the importance of their work.

We have high standards for our government officials, and we'll hold them accountable to those standards. But we also believe in the value of government, and raising judicial and legislative salaries appropriately is fundamentally about valuing government."

'08 Congressional Races Heat Up

This week saw the 2008 New York Congressional races heat up. Here's a recap:

NY-3 : This far before the election, fundraising is the measure of an incumbent's commitment to their next election. So people will be asking questions about Rep. Peter King, who spent $115,690 and raised only $99,005 in the last quarter. That's right, King went in the hole to the tune of almost $17,000 - good news for any potential challenger. He's still got $287,090 in the bank, but all eyes will be watching to see if King can turn things around and regain lost support.

NY-19 : It was campaign launch week for Republican challengers, with millionaire Andrew Saul announcing he was running against John Hall. Hall raised $350,061 and has $342,401 in cash on hand. That's right - Hall is ahead of the much more senior Peter King. Still, expect a fight here.

NY-20 : Look for this to be an expensive race. Kirsten Gillibrand led the pack when it came to fundraising with $668,000 raised, more than any other first-term Rep. But she also picked up a millionaire opponent, Sandy Treadwell. Treadwell was Pataki's Secretary of State and then Chairman of the New York GOP. He made his fortune as an heir to the General Electric fortune. Guess we know where he'll stand on inheritance tax cuts.

NY-25 : This one's a rematch: Dan Maffei is running against James Walsh. Walsh raised $105,091 and has $131,636 in cash on hand. Maffei did surprisingly well in a Democratic year, expect his higher name recognition to translate into a stronger run this time around.

NY-29 : Another rematch: Eric Massa is making a second run against Randy Kuhl. Kuhl raised $115,746 and has $103,559 in cash on hand. Netroots hero Eric Massa will benefit from his increased name recognition and track record as a candidate.

Walsh and Kuhl are being held accountable for their blind support of Bush in Iraq. From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

"Some politicians lead and others follow, and President Bush has been leading the country into an abyss, and Randy Kuhl has been following," said Ted Wilcox, a Metro Justice member. "And we're here to say that he should follow the public, which wants to go a different way."

Walsh and Kuhl voted against an Iraq war funding bill last month that set deadlines for withdrawal of U.S. troops, saying that Congress should not micromanage the war. Kuhl reiterated his stance Thursday, saying the troop buildup in Iraq that he supported earlier this year has had positive results.

Your turn. Take the poll:

Weather Bad Enough For You?

Global warming is the great challenge of the 21st Century, a crisis at the global, national, state and local levels. Human activity is transforming the climate of the whole planet in ways that endanger economic growth, political stability and human civilization itself.

Just look at our recent weather. Winter seemed like summer. Now our spring is more like winter. And we just got hit with record rain. If we don't get serious about global warming, things will get worse.

But it's not all threat. There's also opportunity.

The WFP is starting local. Local governments actually have an important role to play in dealing with global warming. Local building codes determine the energy efficiency of office buildings and homes. Local governments are major energy consumers. And local governments control many of the daily activities that determine the amount of energy and waste generated by our communities.

Working Families Party members are lobbying local and county elected officials to pass legislation that will reduce carbon emissions and also stimulate the local economy to create good jobs in new "green" industries here in New York. We're pushing policies like green building codes, renewable power standards and energy efficient purchasing standards.

Sign a petition telling your local legislators that good jobs and clean energy is a winning combination.

Global Warming Threatens New York

This weekend's record-setting storm throws into stark relief the need to take action on global warming. Otherwise, we're in for worse. The New York Observer has a must-read article on the topic.

The article includes quotes from Princeton Geosciences Professor Michael Oppenheimer:

"This is exactly the type of event that we'd expect to see more of in the future - this kind of gully-washing, incredibly intense downpour."

"The storm was kind of a preview of things to come."

From Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research Climatologist Radley Horton:

"We think climate change is going to threaten New Yorkers' health and wealth through a cocktail of higher temperatures, higher seas and possibly changes in precipitation patterns. Those are the three main variables."

More on the threat to New York from rising water levels:

As global warming heats the earth, the waters of the seas and oceans expand, elevating water levels across the planet. In New York, this means that by 2020 - just 13 years from now - rising sea levels will have raised the waters around the city by three to four inches; by 2050, the waters will have crept up a total of eight to 10 inches; by 2080, 14 to 19 inches.

Those numbers may be conservative, because they ignore the whole troubling and uncertain issue of the polar ice caps.
. . .
According to the latest models, New York neighborhoods that currently flood every 100 or so years - victims of what is known as the 100-year storm, in climatologist-speak - can expect to experience this kind of dousing as frequently as every four years by 2080, in a worst-case scenario.

And more on the threat to New York from higher temperatures:

Afterward, New York will get heat: the kind of intense, smoggy swelter that will sap energy, strain the power grid and wreak unimaginable havoc on certain types of female hair. It will also kill people.

Already, over the past century, climate change has pushed the city's average annual temperatures up nearly two degrees Fahrenheit, while a deceptively bland-sounding phenomenon known as the "urban heat-island effect" - a heat-trapping effect that turns cities like New York into giant hot-air bubbles - has boosted it another degree. Along the way, winters have become warmer and the number of 90-degree scorchers has doubled from roughly seven to 14 days a summer - a trend, scientists say, that does not bode well for the future.

But it's not all threat, there's also opportunity.

That's the message of our Jobs and Energy Forum, taking place upstate on April 28th. The Jobs and Energy Forum will bring local and county elected officials together with policy experts to talk about legislation that local governments can pass to provide jobs AND increase energy efficiency and reduce pollution.

More to come.

Jobs and Energy Forum in Upstate NY

It's time to start dealing with global warming. We know how to fight global warming in a way that benefits the environment, saves taxpayers money, and creates new "green" jobs.

While a lot of attention is focused on federal and state level policies on global warming, local governments also have an important role to play. Local building codes determine the energy efficiency of office buildings and homes. Local governments are major energy consumers. And local governments control many of the daily activities that determine the amount of energy and waste generated by our communities.

The Center for Working Families is hosting a Jobs and Energy Forum for elected officials in Upstate New York on April 28th. The forum will bring together local and county elected officials and legislative staff with a panel of policy experts to talk about local legislation ranging from green building codes to renewable power standards to energy efficient purchasing standards.

The forum will feature a panel of environmental experts from the New York State League of Conservation Voters, Apollo Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and more. Experts will provide technical assistance and guidance on legislation that city, town and county legislatures can pass to provide jobs AND increase energy efficiency and reduce pollution.

And local elected officials who have experience passing landmark environmental legislation on municipal and county levels will be on hand to share their experience and useful information.

Read about specific policies we're talking about.

If your elected official is concerned about global warming or you're an elected official who wants to stimulate the local economy, here's the event flyer (pdf) and invitation (pdf).

More to come as we get closer to Earth Day.

Global Warming Threatens National Security

This weekend brought another reminder of the threat posed by global warming. And no, I'm not talking about our latest bout of extreme weather (does anyone else feel like winter and spring have switched places on the calendar?).

Six retired admirals and five retired generals with the CNA Corporation, a national security think-tank, laid out the "serious threat to America's national security" from global warming (via CNN).

Global climate change presents a serious national security threat that could affect Americans at home, impact U.S. military operations and heighten global tensions, according to a study released today by a blue-ribbon panel of retired admirals and generals.

The report says that in the next 30 to 40 years there will be wars over water, increased hunger instability from worsening disease and rising sea levels and global warming-induced refugees. "The chaos that results can be an incubator of civil strife, genocide and the growth of terrorism"
. . .
They warn of a future of rampant disease, water shortages and flooding that will make already dicey areas - such as the Middle East, Asia and Africa - even worse.

From former U.S. Army chief of staff Gordon Sullivan:

"Climate change is a national security issue . . . We found that climate instability will lead to instability in geopolitics and impact American military operations around the world.

People are saying they want to be perfectly convinced about climate science projections . . . But speaking as a soldier, we never have 100 percent certainty. If you wait until you have 100 percent certainty, something bad is going to happen on the battlefield.

There is a relationship between carbon emissions and our national security . . . I think that the evidence is there that would suggest that we have to start paying attention.

Carbon emissions are clearly part of the problem"

From former commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Anthony Zinni:

"It's not hard to make the connection between climate change and instability, or climate change and terrorism.
. . .
We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we'll have to take an economic hit of some kind. Or, we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives. There will be a human toll."

The report also suggests solutions:

"the path to mitigating the worst security consequences of climate change involves reducing global greenhouse gas emissions."

There's plenty we can do in New York. It's time to act. More on what you can do later this week.

Weekend Entertainment

If you're looking for something to do this weekend (and if you're reading this blog on a Friday night then trust me, you're looking for something to do this weekend) you should check out Armed & Naked in America: A Naked Angels Issues Project.

Armed and Naked in America is 14 established and emerging playwrights' responses to life during wartime America. They're presented together on one stage over two weeks in April by the New 42nd Street at The Duke Theater.

Week 1 (April 11-15) features eight plays, including

• Naked Angels company member Theresa Rebeck
• Academy Award nominee Jose Rivera (Motercycle Diaries)
• Arab-American playwright Betty Shamieh
• Itamar Moses (Bach at Leipzig)

Week 2 (April 18-22) features six plays, including

• Tony and Drama Desk Winner David Rabe
• Tony Award Winner Warren Leight
• Will Eno
• Naked Angels company member Pippin Parker

As an added bonus, short videos by some of the city's hottest sketch comedy groups, music performances and special guests from the worlds of politics, media and entertainment will compliment the theatrical performances.

Buy your tickets online or call 212-239-6200.

WFP on ABC

A little late, but good for a Friday afternoon: ABC News did a piece last week on New York's shrinking middle class that featured the WFP.

Watch the ABC News clip.

If you want to read more, a good place to start is the newly released Drum Major Institute study entitled Saving Our Middle Class.

Affordable Housing in Westchester County

From Lower Hudson Online:

Using federal subsidies and state programs like Mitchell-Lama, developers built large complexes around New York, some with thousands of units in New York City and perhaps a few hundred in places like Ossining, Greenburgh, Mount Vernon and Yonkers.

But those subsidy programs had 20-, 30- or 40-year lifespans and, for several years now, buildings around Westchester County have been hitting the expiration dates.
. . .
Claremont Gardens in Ossining is raising rents to market level as tenants move out.

Claremont tenants such as Robert Smith, 59, a retired postal worker, are already feeling the effects. His rent went from $600 to $735 a month.

"I can afford the rent, but I can't afford it going higher," Smith said.

Thousands of units in Westchester have already converted to market rates, and many more buildings in the coming years will reach the end of their affordability programs, throwing their tenants into uncertainty over the future of their homes.

Thomas McGrath of CPC Resources, an affordable-housing developer, has said that almost 4,000 units in some 25 complexes in the county could be taken out of subsidy programs designed to keep them affordable for low- and moderate-income people in the next several years. In New York City, the sale of the middle-income enclave of Stuyvesant Town and the proposed sale of Starrett City in Brooklyn, each with thousands of units, sparked huge controversy that led the federal government to reject the initial Starrett deal. Without the drama of one huge complex, Westchester faces the same questions 50 or 100 units at a time in buildings around the county.

"We need more than what's currently available and yet we're losing what we have currently available," said Pepi Powell, a tenant activist in Ossining and Peekskill.

Tell your Assemblymember to be part of the solution and pass the "Save Starrett City Law", Assembly Bill 795.

Maybe Rudy Giuliani Buys Milk at the Dollar Store

Well, that would be one explanation. From the mouth of Rudy Giuliani:

But when asked about more mundane matters - like the price of some basic staples - Giuliani had trouble with a reporter's question.

"A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread about a $1.25, $1.30," he said.

A check of the Web site for D'Agostino supermarket on Manhattan's Upper East Side showed a gallon of milk priced at $4.19 and a loaf of white bread at $2.99 to $3.39. In Montgomery, Ala., a gallon of milk goes for about $3.39 and bread is about $2.

Look, does anyone really expect a guy who made $80,000 from a tsunami relief fundraising event to buy his own milk?



Update: Rudy's hungry for more:

"The mistake that I made was that I mixed up the gallon or the half gallon but you never - or I never - buy a gallon because you can't fit it in your refrigerator," the former mayor said on KRIB in Mason City, Iowa, yesterday.

Does anyone really think Rudy Giuliani has a tiny fridge? Probably the same person who thinks he buys his own milk.

What You Can Do: Assembly Bill 795

Will working families be able to live in New York City or will we be overwhelmed by luxury condos? If you live in New York City, you care about the answer to that question. The proposal to buy Starrett City and turn it into luxury condos has thrown that into stark relief, and given us momentum for a larger fight over affordable housing.

The City of New York has committed to create 94,000 new affordable units and preserve 71,000 existing units. But even with that commitment, we're losing our existing affordable housing faster than we're building new affordable housing. And nearly 1.5 million existing affordable units are still at risk. We need to do more.

Tell your Assemblymember to be part of the solution and pass the "Save Starrett City Law", Assembly Bill 795.

Save the Date: Affordable Housing Borough Meetings

Millions of New Yorkers cannot afford a decent place to live. The most recent City data shows that 26% of New York City renters pay at least half of their income for rent. Thousands of affordable units in Mitchell-Lama, Section 8, and public housing are being lost every year, and hundreds of thousands of rent-stabilized apartments are decontrolled when they hit the $2000 rent level.

I've been blogging about Starrett City because that fight is a high profile example of the affordable housing fights going on all over New York. What the Starrett City fight does, since it's so big and so many people live there, is focus attention and light a fire under our elected officials that we need to act to increase the housing covered by rent regulations and protect the affordable housing we have now.

An unprecedented coalition including the Working Families Party, labor unions, and nearly every housing organization in New York City have joined forces to do just that. We'll be hosting Borough Planning Meetings across the city starting later this month, all leading up to a massive affordable housing rally on May 23 at Stuyvesant Town.

You're invited: find the closest Affordable Housing Borough Meeting and mark it down on your calendar. Let's do all we can to make sure working families can afford to stay in New York.

Starrett City Still Under Siege

As predicted, past rejections haven't stopped Clipper Equities and David Bistricer from putting a new proposal on the table to buy Starrett City and turn it into luxury condos.

First, a quick recap: The Clipper Equities development group led by David Bistricer proposed buying Starrett City, home to 14,000 people, for $1.3 billion. Analysts agree that a price tag that high means Bistricer intends to convert Starrett City to luxury condos. The proposed sale quickly became a proxy fight over affordable housing, and was derailed by an outpouring of community outrage. More detail here.

Bistricer's latest proposal shamelessly calls for tens of millions of dollars in new public subsidies to Clipper Equities. In return, they'll convert Starrett City to luxury condos slowly instead of doing it right away.

Governor Spitzer and Senator Schumer both came out against Bistricer's new proposal to purchase Starrett City. From the New York Times:

Mr. Bistricer's latest plan to buy Starrett City for $1.3 billion has already received a chilly reception from Governor Spitzer, who spoke out in support of the tenants early on. In a letter last night to the Bistricer group, Mr. Spitzer's housing commissioner, Deborah Van Amerongen, said the plan "failed to adequately ensure that Starrett City would be preserved as viable affordable housing in the future, and would be unworkable under existing statutory law."
. . .
Senator Charles E. Schumer also sent Mr. Bistricer a letter this week saying he had "serious concerns" that the proposal "shifts a significant burden to the federal government, while not doing enough to protect the middle-class character of the development."
. . .
"I will do anything I can to keep it middle class," Mr. Schumer said of Starrett City. "But I'm not going to fight for more subsidies so the seller can make a bigger profit."

This is a major victory, but it's still a temporary one. The proposed sale of Starrett City and the sale of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village needs to light a fire under city and state officials to protect our existing affordable housing.

Starrett City won't be out of the woods until the New York State Legislature and Governor Spitzer pass legislation to keep Starrett City rent stabilized and repeal vacancy decontrol. That will be a lasting victory for Starrett City and affordable housing throughout New York. Until then, Starrett City residents have to live with the threat of eviction hanging over their heads.

Sign the petition.

(crossposted at New York Is Our Home!)

Are Ford's Executives Looting the Company?

Is there a better example of corporate greed - and a better argument for taxing the superrich - than Ford CEO Alan Mulally? Ford posted a record $12.7 billion net loss in 2006. But Mulally was just paid $28 million for four months of work.

Actually, former Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr might be a better example. Billy said in May 2005 that he wouldn't accept any pay, bonus or stock until the company started making money again. But now it turns out he got $10.5 million in 2006 and $13.3 million in 2005.

And who pays when executives loot the company till? You guessed it. Ford wants to cut 30,000 jobs and is demanding more concessions from their unionized workers. What do you think the chances are that they'll cut Mulally's pay?

Tell Governor Spitzer that we need a statewide discussion about progressive taxation.

Investigate Bob Mirch

The Working Families Party is calling for an investigation into Bob Mirch.

Who is Bob Mirch? Mirch's day job is Commissioner of the Department of Public Works in Troy, a political appointment he got through his real work as a Troy-area political boss. Mirch is nicknamed 3-Job Bob: that's because he's also Republican Majority Leader for the County Legislature and Political Liason for Joe Bruno.

It's as a political boss that Mirch is accused of coercing an employee into recording two fradulent autocalls attacking a pair of City Council candidates. From the Troy Record:

[Colleen Regan] said Mirch, also the Legislature's majority leader, picked her up at the county building in a city vehicle and took her to Crawley's office in City Hall shortly before the 2005 election.

While there, she was made to make two phone calls. In one she pretended to be "Tonya" and said she was sexually harassed by Councilman Bill Dunne, D-District 4, while the two worked at the state Dormitory Authority. In the second she said council candidate Dan Doran stood by while a city staffer stole thousands of dollars.

More here.

We'll know soon if a County Judge will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Mirch, but it looks unlikely that the majority of the Troy City Council will hold Mirch - who helped them get elected - accountable.

The Troy Polloi has (much) more.

Tonight: Representative Nadler on Iraq

The Columbia University Working Families Party Chapter is cosponsoring an event tonight featuring U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler and Todd Gitlin, a 60s activist, author and Columbia Journalism professor.

They'll talk about ending the war in Iraq and what withdrawal means for Middle East geopolitical stability.

Thursday, April 5, at 8pm
Columbia University
Barnard Hall, Room 304

Cosponsored by the Columbia University Working Families Party Chapter and the Columbia Coalition Against the War.

WFP on the New York State Budget

This year's state budget battle is over. The final budget increases education spending and reduces the health care cuts - both good outcomes.

The flaw in the budget debate – and it's a serious one – was on the revenue side. New York continues to have not just high taxes, but highly unfair taxes.

The wealthier you are in New York State, the less you pay in taxes as a percentage of your income. Look at all the taxes a person pays – income, payroll, sales, property, capital gains – and you find that the middle class and working class pay higher percentages of their overall income in taxes than the wealthy. Here's a chart of the effective tax rate in New York State from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (via the Fiscal Policy Institute) that illustrates this point:



Sooner or later, we have to face this. New York State government has the good fortune to be rolling in money, and so they increased spending and cut property taxes at the same time. We may not be so lucky in next year's budget.

A responsible government – like a responsible household – must inventory its needs for both the short and long term, and then make decisions. We didn't really do that in Albany this year. The passion for an on-time budget got in the way of a more serious exploration of the state's fiscal situation.

The Working Families Party remains committed to just such an exploration. We live in a rich state, but the distribution of income, security, opportunity, and peace of mind is truly screwed up. It's a topic that deserves the attention of our elected leaders.

Tell Governor Spitzer that you think we need a statewide discussion about progressive taxation.

Real Estate Prices Rising

The April release of quarterly real estate data shows the New York City real estate market is getting less affordable. From a New York Times article focused on Manhattan and Brooklyn (via Gothamist):

the average price of an apartment in Manhattan rose to $1.22 million in the first quarter of this year, up from $1.14 million in the last quarter of 2006
. . .
Buyers also seemed more willing to pay higher prices for new condominiums in Brooklyn. Corcoran said the average overall prices in Brooklyn rose 22 percent, to $628,000 in the first quarter of this year from $514,000 in the first quarter of 2006.

And prices are only going up:

"In the second quarter, I think we're going to see more appreciation because of the high level of activity" early this year, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, an appraisal firm.
. . .
"People were holding back a little bit more a year ago,” said Hall Wilkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, though he added, "Anybody who was holding back, isn't."

But there's also an increasing willingness to take on and solve this problem. Witness yesterday's conference by the Drum Major Institute asking, "Is New York City still a middle-class town?" Alongside discussion by a number of mayoral candidates (here and here), DMI released a survey entitled Saving Our Middle Class. From their report:

"Affordable rent" tops the list of the middle class's biggest challenges. Two out of three respondents describe affordable rent as one of the top three middle-class concerns in the city and it is the only one to get a majority response.
. . .
New York City leaders agree: building more government-funded affordable housing and increasing funding for k-12 education would be very effective at strengthening and expanding the city’s middle class.

And there's this blog post on Room 8 by State Senator Serrano on reforming the 421a tax exemption:

The 421a tax exemption looms somewhere on the Albany horizon, and it's not yet getting the attention it deserves.

Created in the 1970s to fuel development in a depressed city, the exemption program has been periodically reformed to help protect affordable housing in a now booming market.
. . .
I believe there is room for improvement in the city proposal

You can get involved. Find the Affordable Housing Borough Meeting nearest you.

And read more about what New York Is Our Home! would like to see happen.

(crossposted at New York Is Our Home!)

Wal-Mart Walks Away

Good news for New York City - Wal-Mart is picking up it's ball and going home. From the New York Times:

Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation's largest city, Wal-Mart's chief executive said yesterday, "I don't care if we are ever [in New York City]."

H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of the nation's largest retailer, said that trying to conduct business in New York was so expensive - and exasperating - that "I don't think it's worth the effort."

Mr. Scott's remarks, delivered at a meeting with editors and reporters of The New York Times, amounted to a surprising admission of defeat, given the company's vigorous efforts to crack into urban markets and expand beyond its suburban base in much of the country. In recent years, Wal-Mart has encountered stout resistance to its plans to enter America's bigger cities, which stand as its last domestic frontier.

And Lee has a childish explanation for why Wal-Mart has failed in New York City:

But as Mr. Scott sees it, there is another reason Wal-Mart has such a hard time making inroads into some of the nation's biggest enclaves. Speaking about what he sees as snobbish elites in New York and across the country, Mr. Scott added, "You have people who are just better than us and don't want a Wal-Mart in their community."

Or maybe it's Wal-Mart's poverty wages. It could be Wal-Mart's policy of pushing workers onto public assistance instead of providing real benefits. It's definitely the way Wal-Mart uses its size to undercut local businesses and drive them under to eliminate competition. Don't forget the gender-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart. There's also Wal-Mart's punitive sick leave policies where a worker can be fired for taking care of a sick child. Frankly, when you're talking about reasons to not want Wal-Mart in your community, it's a pretty long list.

So here's some free advice to Mr. Scott : instead of sticking your head in the sand and insulting potential customers because they won't shop at your store, try treating your employees decently.

Two More Nassau Election Wins

There were two special elections in Nassau County yesterday, one for State Assembly to fill Tom DiNapoli's seat and one for County Legislature to fill Craig Johnson's seat.

The Working Families-endorsed candidate won both races, and the WFP was the biggest third party in each race.

Here are the results:

Assembly District 16

Candidate Name	Party	Results	Candidate Total
Michelle Schimel	D	4,735
Michelle Schimel	I	243
Michelle Schimel	W	406	5,384
Ryan D DeCicco	R	899	899

County Legislator District 11

Candidate Name	Party	Results	Candidate Total
Wayne Wink	D	2,539
Wayne Wink	I	135
Wayne Wink	W	198	2,872
Louis F Chisari	R	513
Louis F Chisari	C	86	599

Congratulations to our two new elected officials, the Nassau County Working Families Chapter, and everyone else who worked hard on these campaigns!

In The News: Family Leave Insurance

The March 2007 American Prospect has a special report titled "Mother Load: Why Can't America Have a Family-Friendly Workplace?" The need for Family Leave Insurance is a running theme in the various articles. Here's a sample:

From The Architecture of Work and Family:

Although it was a critical first step, the [Family and Medical Leave Act] is fairly meager . . . the fact that the FMLA is unpaid renders it moot for large numbers of workers.

From What About Fathers?:

Although U.S. family-leave programs like the Family and Medical Leave Act have increased available options, because they are unpaid and available to only those working in large firms, they have not substantially relieved the burden on working fathers and mothers.

From Responsive Workplaces:

Many employers that offer workplace flexibility say that these practices improve their bottom line -- and research bears them out, in the form of fewer employee absences, lower health-care costs, and higher rates of worker retention.
. . .
Paid leave and supports such as child care carry costs, but these costs come with benefits, too. Paid sick days prevent contagion, paid family leave significantly enhances retention, and child care can improve worker productivity.
. . .
So, if family-friendly practices are good for business, are most employers offering paid family leave and child care? Far from it. Only 8 percent of workers in the private sector get these assistance programs from their bosses.
. . .
Some state and local governments have taken the lead in moving private employers forward. In California, a new law relies on the state's temporary disability insurance program to fund up to six weeks of paid family medical leave, with wages replaced at 55 percent of salary up to a cap.

Working Families aims to make New York the next state to offer Family Leave Insurance. Family Leave Insurance has gone a long way toward making workplaces more family-friendly in the countries that have implemented it. Which is to say, almost all of them - the US is one of just 5 countries in the world without Family Leave Insurance.

We can implement Family Leave Insurance by expanding New York's Temporary Disability Insurance program to also cover family needs. Workers would receive 12 weeks of benefits to care for a newborn or newly adopted child or for a seriously ill family member. This is a solution whose time has come.

Tell your Assemblymember to be part of the solution.

Got questions? Check our page of Frequently Asked Questions.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Family Leave Insurance

Budget Deadline Draws Near

New York is still headed toward a late budget after a weekend of negotiations. From Newsday:

With the state budget due in a week, negotiators for Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Assembly and Senate majorities failed to reach critical agreements Sunday.

Closed-door talks will continue Monday. All sides agreed a deal will have to be struck early in the week to leave enough time to print budget bills and approve them in both chambers to pass an on-time budget. The budget is due Sunday, April 1.

Education and health care are the main sticking points. Instead of forcing a choice between these two top priorities, we need to expand the debate. 44,000 New York taxpayers have yearly incomes over $1 million. Together, they take in more than New York's entire middle class. It's time for a sane discussion of taxes.

Maria Lisella is one of the people helping start that discussion, with a letter printed in the Sunday "Voice of the People" section of the Daily News:

New York is a wealthy state, but you'd never know it to listen to debates over the state budget. Instead of arguing over education vs. health care, both essential services, there's a better way: For every $500,000 you earn, you're taxed one day's pay (about .4% of your income). Make $1 million, be taxed two days' pay. Lucky enough to make $2.5 million per year? You're taxed a week's salary. We could put in a cap when salary reached $10 million. This plan would let Spitzer make good on property tax reductions and increased school funding and do health care reform right by covering everyone with no exceptions.

Right on.

Write your own letter.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party, Income Inequality

Pew Study Finds Income Inequality Rising

A major study by the Pew Research Center looking at "political values and core attitudes" over the past 20 years finds that working families are having a hard time making ends meet (via Working For Us PAC). From the summary:

More broadly, the poll finds that money worries are rising. More than four-in-ten (44%) say they "don't have enough money to make ends meet," up from 35% in 2002. While a majority continues to say they are "pretty well satisfied" with their personal financial situation, that number is lower than it has been in more than a decade.

The stark difference between people who can't make ends meet and people who are pretty well satisfied shows the growing income inequality in our society. More on that:

In addition, an increasing number of Americans subscribe to the sentiment "today it's really true that the rich just get richer while the poor get poorer." Currently, 73% concur with that sentiment, up from 65% five years ago. Growing concerns about income inequality are most apparent among affluent Americans; large percentages of lower-income people have long held this opinion.

This issue is playing out in the state budget fight going on in Albany. Our elected officials are fighting over essential services like schools and health care, but left out of the equation are the superrich. As long as that's the case, they are the ones who will keep winning the debate.

Read our solution.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party, Income Inequality

New York's State Budget

April 1st is not just for fools. It's also the day the New York State budget is due.

The state budget is likely to be late because of the Governor's decision to force a choice between health care and education.

We shouldn't have to choose between these two top priorities. 44,000 New York taxpayers have yearly incomes over $1 million - that's over $20,000 a week. Instead of fighting over a shrinking pool of resources, the wealthiest among us must pay their fair share in taxes.

Here's our idea: One day's pay for every half-million.

For every $500,000 you earn, you pay one day's pay in taxes (about 0.4 percent of your income). Make $1 million, that's two days pay. Lucky enough to make $2.5 million per year? That's five days' pay, or a week's salary. And you still have another 51 weeks at $50,000 per week to get that $2.5 million. We can cap the number of days when we get to $10 million.

This proposal would let us reduce property taxes for working families, increase school funding, and provide everyone - no exceptions! - with health care.

Help put this idea in the papers by writing a Letter to the Editor on the state budget.

And be sure to let us know if your Letter to the Editor gets published.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party, Income Inequality

Decency and Tolerance Win In Suffolk County

Last night, Working Families suceeded in defeating proposed anti-immigrant legislation in the Suffolk County Legislature by a vote of 10 to 6.

Hopefully this win signals the beginning of a change in political discourse. Here's Brian Schneck, Co-Chair of the Suffolk Chapter of Working Families:

"The tide is turning in Suffolk County . . . After several years of grandstanding politicians riding a wave of anti-immigrant animus, people are starting to return to their senses. Common-sense values of decency and tolerance prevailed last night.
. . .
Legislators need to know that working families are looking for real solutions to the problems facing us here on Long Island, not useless political grandstanding.
. . .
There are many victims of our nation's inadequate immigration policies, as well as the failure of government to enforce labor laws. But this bill only fueled the flames of misunderstanding and intolerance."

Working Families organized opposition to the bill, including:

• A public letter to the bill's sponsor, Jack Eddington, that said that support for the bill would be a factor in the party's endorsement process.
• Robocalls to constituents of undecided legislators that connected them directly to their legislators to register opposition.
• Grassroots lobbying of swing legislators, including in-person visits and phone calls.
• Bringing members to testify against the bill at public hearings and press conferences.
  
• Mobilizing opposition from progressive and labor allies.
  

Our thanks to the 10 legislators who voted "no":

1. Kate Browning
2. John Kennedy, Jr
3. Thomas Barraga
4. Steven Stern
5. Louis D'Amaro
6. William Lindsay
7. Jon Cooper
8. Ricardo Montano
9. Vivian Viloria-Fisher
10. Elie Mystal
    

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who made calls, came to speak at legislative hearings, lobbied swing legislators, and a special congratulations to Brian Schneck, Michele Lynch, Regina Corby-Graham, Bill Page and Susan Steinmann, as well as affiliates UAW, SEIU 32BJ, Laborers Union, LIPC and UNITE HERE for all your hard work against this bill!

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Suffolk Votes on Anti-Immigrant Bill

Debate has started in the Suffolk County Legislature on proposed anti-immigrant legislation, with a vote scheduled for tonight. Last Thursday, the Suffolk County Legislature's Public Safety committee voted 4-3 to advance the bill out of committee.

Working Families oppose this bill, and, in addition to our grassroots organizing against it, we've gone into the field with a robocall in the districts of four swing legislators. Our robocall calls the bill what it is - meaningless political grandstanding that won't help workers and won't help our communities. The robocall ends with the option for people to call their county legislator.

More on this as it develops.

Update: We won! Only six votes for the anti-immigrant bill, they needed 10. More in the morning, but I wanted to share the good news.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Tonight at Tweed

200 parents from the Put the Public Back in Public Education Coalition will attend tonight's Panel for Educational Policy meeting at the Tweed Courthouse to call on Chancellor Klein to listen to the public and stop the reorganization of the New York City's schools.

The public wants fair funding, accountability and quality teaching in all schools. But Chancellor Klein refuses to listen as he moves forward with a proposal that won't accomplish those goals. Instead, we're getting more internal reorganization of the org chart and chaos for parents, teachers and students.

Coalition for Education Justice parent leader Lenore Brown asks the question,

"Why not follow the lead of City Council Speaker Chris Quinn on middle grades and establish a task force composed of key stakeholders to examine best practice from around the country, hear testimony from parents, students, and teachers, and come up with a widely agreed upon and comprehensive plan to, once and for all, transform public education in New York City?"

Tonight's protest comes after a Quinnipiac poll found widespread public dissatisfaction with how parents have been shut out of New York City's schools (via the Politicker). The key numbers:

Voters disapprove 43 - 33 percent of the job Schools Chancellor Joel Klein is doing.

This poll and tonight's protest both show a continuing and clear desire for the public to have a say in how our public schools are run.

Mayor Bloomberg, are you listening?

Sign the petition.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Education

How Many Sides In Iraq's Civil War?

That's the question raised by a Pentagon report on Iraq:

The war in Iraq has been characterized by fighting between the majority Shiite Muslim sect and the minority Sunni Muslims, who were in power under Saddam Hussein's regime.

But the report also cites Shiite-on-Shiite violence; al Qaeda and Sunni insurgent attacks on coalition forces, and "widespread criminally motivated violence" as features that complicate the designation of civil war.

So Shiites are fighting Shiites, Shiites are fighting Sunnis, Sunnis are fighting us and violent crime is running rampant. Why are our troops left in the middle of this? It's time to bring them home.

Email your Representative.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Iraq

Working Families Oppose Anti-Immigrant Bill

Working Families is fighting proposed anti-immigrant legislation in the Suffolk County Legislature. Suffolk County Working Families Chapter Co-Chair Brian Schneck called out the bill's supporters,

"Legislators need to know that working families are looking for real solutions to the problems facing us here on Long Island, not useless political grandstanding,"

The Suffolk County legislature's Public Safety committee is meeting today for a public hearing on the bill, at which we'll distribute a letter opposing the bill signed by us and SEIU Local 32BJ, UNITE HERE, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Asbestos Lead & Hazardous Waste Laborers Local 78 and Mason Tenders/Demolition Laborers Local 79.

Here's the letter:

Dear Legislator:

As affiliates of the Working Families Party, we write to register our strong opposition to Intro. Res. No.1022-2007, the so-called anti-soliciting bill. This legislation is the worst kind of political grandstanding: it exploits anti-immigrant animus while accomplishing exactly nothing of value.

The net effects of Res No. 1022 would be to (1) move day laborers from county highways to local roads, (2) score political points for its proponents with rabid nativists, (3) hurt labor’s ability to hold collective job actions, and (4) possibly infringe on the civil liberties of New Yorkers engaged in grassroots political activity.

The congregation of day laborers raises real problems. This bill solves none of them. Constructive solutions like regulated work centers would.

As affiliates of the political party to which the bill's co-sponsor belongs, we are particularly galled that this legislation is now being associated with Working Families.

Comments by the bill's prime sponsor, Legislator Eddington, make clear the intent of the legislation:

Eddington . . . told reporters that the problems of rising taxes and illegal immigration were "two sides of the same coin," and warned illegal immigrants, "You better beware." "If you're here in Suffolk County illegally, you will not stay here," Mr. Eddington said. "If you are on the street looking for work and causing unsafe conditions, you will not stay. Suffolk County residents will not be victimized anymore."

There are many victims of our nation's inadequate immigration policies, as well as the failure of government to enforce labor laws. But this bill only fuels the flames of misunderstanding and intolerance.

Sincerely,

We've got a good chance of beating this bill, Newsday runs down the vote count. More on this as it develops.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

To Do Health Care Right, Rich Must Be Taxed

I want to share an op-ed in today's Albany Times-Union from Working Families State Co-Chair Bob Master and Executive Director Dan Cantor:

A lot of things happen in Albany, but the most central is the state budget. It's through the budget that our elected leaders discuss and decide what's important. What do we favor, and who should pay for it? That's the real meaning of the budget document.

Gov. Spitzer's budget proposal has a lot of good stuff in it: Education funding. Better allocation of economic development funds. Expansion of health care programs for children and the poor.

But there are two big problems. The first is the health care cuts. And the second is an unwillingness to raise taxes on the superrich.

On the health care side, there is cause for praise as well as blame. The new governor's commitment to clear away the bureaucratic obstacles that keep hundreds of thousands of eligible New Yorkers off Medicaid is a major step forward. Unfortunately, while Spitzer is extending health coverage with one hand, he is yanking away a lifeline from the state's hospitals and nursing homes with the other.

No one denies that New York's health care system is in need of reform. No doubt, some of New York's aging hospitals have not kept pace with social and technological change. But fixing a system as vital and complex as New York's health care system takes the delicate tools of a surgeon. The governor's budget proposal applies a sledgehammer.

The second problem with the budget is closely connected to the first. New York is a state of fabulous wealth, but you wouldn't know it to listen to our budget debates.

Every year, we are whipsawed between the need for public goods and essential services -- that's what schools and health care are, after all -- and the equally powerful want for reduced taxes. In an age of stagnant wages for the middle and working class, a tax cut is one of the few ways people can get a little more money.

Left out of the equation are the rich. They are the ones who actually keep winning this debate, because they depend less on the public goods and services that go underfunded, and make out like bandits from counterproductive tax cuts at the state and federal level.

Take a breath and consider this: There are approximately 44,000 New York taxpayers with incomes more than $1 million a year -- that means they earn more than $20,000 per week. They claim an astonishing $225 billion each year, a full quarter of all income in the state. In other words, this elite club takes in more than New York's entire middle class, the 2.5 million households earning between $50,000 and $150,000 a year. The inequality in wealth that results is even more astonishing.

Some people may say this is the natural result of a vibrant free-market economy. But others know it is the result of political and social choices -- specifically, the retreat from fair taxes, and the retreat from any sense that enough is enough when it comes to the rich. Unfortunately, the case for fair taxes is seldom a political winner, so the extremely wealthy become the eternally wealthy, and we are forced to choose between funding education or funding health care.

It's time for a sane discussion of taxes. Here's an idea to start that discussion: One day's pay for every half-million.

For every $500,000 you earn, you give back to New York -- because that's all taxes are -- one day's pay (about 0.4 percent of your income). Make $1 million, give back two days pay. Lucky enough to make $2.5 million per year? That's five days' pay, or a week's salary. But remember, you still have another 51 weeks at $50,000 per week to get that $2.5 million. We can cap the number of days when we get to $10 million.

This proposal would produce more than $11 billion in revenue. That would let us do health care reform right (cover everyone, no exceptions), pay off some bonds and still let the governor make good on property tax reduction and school funding.

Spitzer's first budget proposal suggests he'll be a good governor. If he backs off his misguided health spending cuts and his unwise no-new-taxes commitment, he'll be a great one.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Income Inequality

Hold Democrats' Feet to the Fire

Iraq is in utter chaos. It's a civil war, with American troops caught in the crossfire. The Bush Doctrine of "preemptive war" was morally and strategically stupid, and the dead and wounded are the visible result of his hubris. It's past time for the Democrats running Congress to force Bush to change strategy and bring the troops home.

This war won't end until Congress uses its power of the purse to limit the use of funds to protecting our troops' safety and bringing them home. Non-binding resolutions are not enough. And it's a mistake to continue to let Bush and Cheney have their way.

Last month, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution opposing George Bush's plan to escalate American involvement in Iraq. Next up: A vote on funding for the war. Democrats want to take a baby step forward, Working Families is pushing them to do better and do the right thing for our troops.

Tell your U.S. Representative to limit the use of funds to protecting our troops' safety and bringing them home now.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Iraq

House Dem's Supplemental Made Public

Talking Points Memo has posted the House Democrats' Leadership Bill for the supplemental budget. The short version is it includes a deadline for bringing the troops home, but doesn't have the teeth to make it stick. From TPM:

House leaders will argue that the bill does do its job, because it declares the war illegal beyond a certain date. But liberal House sources say this removed language was critical in ending the war in practice, because it would enforce the war's end with the power of the purse rather than requiring a trip to court to force an end to the war should Bush insist on keeping it going in defiance of the legislation.

If this is the best the House is willing to pass right now, it's not enough. We need to keep pushing, and they need to do better. It's past time for Congress to limit the use of funds to protecting our troops' safety and bringing them home now.

Email your Representative

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Iraq

Bistricer Back From the Dead?

We called it a temporary victory, and now David Bistricer and Clipper Equities LLC are trying to resurrect their proposal to buy Starrett City and turn it into luxury condos. From Crain's (no link):

Starrett City bidder makes last-ditch pitch
Clipper says plan ensures low rents; foes want Mitchell-Lama protected

The prospective buyer of Starrett City is making a last-ditch effort to save its bid for the Brooklyn housing complex . . .

But housing officials and politicians - many of whom came under fire for failing to block the recent $5 billion sale of affordable housing complexes Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village - have condemned the deal. They blast Mr. Bistricer's record, citing thousands of violations at his other properties. They also say the price tag, which amounts to $221,000 a unit, makes no economic sense unless the buildings are turned into luxury residences.

"It will be impossible for someone paying this price not to convert the units into high-priced rentals or ritzy condominiums," Sen. Charles Schumer observed in a statement recently.

More as the situation develops.

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Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Affordable Housing

Release: Working Families Determined to Press for Yonkers Living Wage Law

For immediate release: March 11, 2007

Working Families Determined to
Press for Yonkers Living Wage Law

Expressing “disappointment” at Mayor Phil Amicone’s veto of the Living Wage Law passed by the Yonkers City Council, Patrick Welsh, chairman of Westchester-Putnam Working Families, announced today his party’s determination to continue to press for a law on behalf of low-wage workers.

“We take literally the Mayor’s statement that 'the notion of a locally mandated living wage is certainly a creditable concept,’” Welsh said, “and we look forward to working with him and the City Council toward that end. We are driven by the belief that it is immoral to use city funds – taxpayer dollars – to pay workers wages that keep them in poverty. Moreover, we know from the experience of more than 140 other localities that living wage laws are good for the economy.”

Welsh specifically disputed Amicone’s contention that a living wage law would make it almost impossible to settle fair labor agreements with the city’s municipal unions. “Our brothers and sisters in the uniformed services and other unions deserve a raise, but so do people making $6.00 and $7.00 an hour,” Welsh stated. “Nobody can live on those salaries.”

A Van Down By The River

Mixing funny and depressing, here's a Gothamist post about one man's affordable housing alternative - namely living in a van:

When you realize that the $1300 you're forking over for rent results in an apartment the size of a shoebox, where are you to turn? In the case of a Brooklyn man, you buy a bread truck.

Of course, even that wasn't entirely affordable:

They were unable to settle in Manhattan because it was too difficult to find parking.

So, basically, a guy living in a parking space got priced out of Manhattan.

Oy.

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Technorati tags: Working Families Party | Affordable Housing

Time for a Progressive Income Tax?

Property values are shooting through the roof, which means the property tax burden is weighing more heavily on working class families. So it's no surprise that a Marist Poll released today of Dutchess and Ulster Counties found that:

"65% think [school] funding should be based on the state's income tax to achieve a more equitable contribution among taxpayers."

This poll is another demonstration that the public is ready to replace the school property tax with a progressive income tax. It's time for legislators who are serious about reforming our school funding mechanism to look at a progressive income tax as the solution.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Grandstanding in Suffolk

The Suffolk Working Families Chapter sent this letter to Suffolk County Legislator Jack Eddington today by fax (631-854-1403) and email (Jack.Eddington@suffolkcountyny.gov).

The Hon. Jack Eddington
90 W. Main St - Suite 2N
Patchogue, NY 11772

Dear Legislator Eddington:

We write to register our strong opposition to Intro. Res. No. 1022-2007, the so-called anti-soliciting bill. This legislation is the worst kind of political grandstanding: it exploits anti-immigrant animus while accomplishing exactly nothing of value.

The net effects of Res No. 1022 would be to (1) move day laborers from county highways to local roads, (2) score political points for its proponents with rabid nativists, (3) hurt organized labor's ability to hold collective job actions, and (4) possibly infringe on the civil liberties of New Yorkers engaged in grassroots political activity.

The congregation of day laborers raises real problems. Your bill solves none of them. Constructive solutions like regulated work centers would.

As leaders of the political party to which you belong, we are particularly galled that your legislation is now being associated with Working Families.

Your quotations in the New York Times leave no secret of the bill's aim:

Eddington . . . told reporters that the problems of rising taxes and illegal immigration were "two sides of the same coin," and warned illegal immigrants, "You better beware." "If you're here in Suffolk County illegally, you will not stay here," Mr. Eddington said. "If you are on the street looking for work and causing unsafe conditions, you will not stay. Suffolk County residents will not be victimized anymore."

Your terrorizing rhetoric is embarrassing. There are many victims of our nation's inadequate immigration policies, as well as the failure of government to enforce labor laws. But congratulations to you for joining the ranks of the perpetrators.

Unless you withdraw Res. No. 1022-2007, it is very unlikely that you will receive the endorsement of Working Families' Suffolk chapter for your 2007 re-election bid.

Sincerely,

Brian Schneck, Co-Chair
Suffolk County Chapter of the Working Families Party

Technorati tags: Working Families Party

Labor Matters

This chart was published in today's Wall Street Journal.