Why Recent Stock Volatility Shouldn’t Factor Into Interest-Rate Hikes
As a general principle, the Fed should not react to short-term movements in the financial markets. For one thing, the labor market is much more important to the lives of most Americans, and it is...
As a general principle, the Fed should not react to short-term movements in the financial markets. For one thing, the labor market is much more important to the lives of most Americans, and it is more relevant to the Fed’s mandate of securing maximum employment with inflation stability.
Then consider this: More than 80% of stock wealth in the U.S. is owned by the wealthiest 10% of Americans, and more than half of Americans own no stocks at all (either directly or through retirement or other accounts). In short, movements in the stock markets do not have much effect on the spending power of most U.S. households. That means that movements in the stock markets–especially short-term volatility that is likely to largely dissipate–provides little information about the overall state of economic health.
On the other hand, the labor market provides the vast majority of income to the vast majority of Americans. The middle fifth of households, for example, gets more than 80% of household income directly from the labor market (either cash wages or employer-provided benefits). Further, many additional sources of income such as pensions, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, or the Earned Income Tax Credit hinge on participation in the labor market. That’s why trends in the labor market are crucial to assessing the overall state of the economy–which is far from fully recovered from the Great Recession.
The clearest remaining weakness is wages. The current pace of hourly wage growth is roughly 2% to 2.5%. A healthy labor market that met the Fed’s overall price inflation target should be churning out wage increases of at least 3.5%. Further, a period of wage growth well above this is necessary for workers’ pay to reclaim some of the ground lost to corporate profits earlier in this recovery. Until wage growth starts moving durably toward the healthy 3.5% target, it’s too early for the Fed to begin raising rates.
This labor-market-based reasoning for keeping rates low should weigh much more heavily on Fed calculations about interest rates than recent stock activity. The only caveat: if one of the root causes of recent stock market declines–the slowdown in the Chinese economy–provides a new potential headwind to U.S. growth going forward.
But the case for keeping rates unchanged in September was dispositive last week, even before large declines in the stock markets. And any strong stock rally in the coming month shouldn’t make Fed officials feel fine about raising rates.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Aeropostale, Disney and other retailers pledge to stop on-call shift scheduling
Aeropostale, Disney and other retailers pledge to stop on-call shift scheduling
Imagine waking up and not knowing whether you were scheduled to work. Add on to that the chaotic burden of finding a babysitter last minute.
These six companies — Aeropostale, Carter’s,...
Imagine waking up and not knowing whether you were scheduled to work. Add on to that the chaotic burden of finding a babysitter last minute.
These six companies — Aeropostale, Carter’s, David’s Tea, Disney, PacSun and Zumiez — all required their employees to call an hour or two before a scheduled shift to find out if they would be assigned to work that day.
But no more.
A coalition that included New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today that on-call shift scheduling has come to an end for those companies.
“Today, we are seeing retailers across America take steps to curb unnecessary and unfair on-call scheduling," said Carrie Gleason, director of the Fair Workweek Initiative at the Center for Popular Democracy. "We are especially glad that employers like Disney and Carter's, whose brands promote putting families first, will stop using on-call shifts that are notorious for wreaking havoc on families' balance and puts undue stress on children."
The announcement follows an inquiry by Schneiderman and eight other attorneys general to make sure that more than 50,000 workers nationwide will no longer be subject to such a "burdensome scheduling practice." The agreements with these six companies are the latest in a series of groundbreaking national agreements secured by the New York Attorney General’s office to end on-call scheduling at a number of major retailers.
Fifteen large retailers received a joint inquiry letter in April seeking information and documents related to their use of on-call shifts. Other than the six mentioned, the list included American Eagle, Payless, Coach, Forever 21, Vans, Justice Just for Girls, BCBG Maxazria, Tilly’s, Inc. and Uniqlo. The letter stated that unpredictable work schedules "take a toll on employees."
"Without the security of a definite work schedule, workers who must be 'on call' have difficulty making reliable childcare and elder-care arrangements, encounter obstacles in pursuing an education, and in general experience higher incidences of adverse health effects, overall stress, and strain on family life than workers who enjoy the stability of knowing their schedules reasonably in advance," the letter continued.
After discussions with the Schneiderman and his fellow AGs, none of the retailers will be using on-call shifts. Also, Disney and others have agreed to provide employees with their work schedules at least one week in advance of the start of the work week as a way to plan child care and other obligations ahead of time.
“People should not have to keep the day open, arrange for child care, and give up other opportunities without being compensated for their time,” said Schneiderman. “I am pleased that these companies have stepped up to the plate and agreed to stop using this unfair method of scheduling.”
The announcement marks a continuation of Schneiderman's mission, which began last year when Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap, J.Crew, Urban Outfitters, Pier 1 Imports, and L Brands — the parent company of Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret — all agreed to end the practice of assigning on-call shifts.
New York State has a “call-in-pay” regulation that provides, “An employee who by request or permission of the employer reports for work on any day shall be paid for at least four hours, or the number of hours in the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less, at the basic minimum hourly wage.” (12 NYCRR 142-2.3).
By Anthony Noto
Source
Young Women of Color Are Running to Win
In the Senate, Kerri Evelyn Harris is challenging centrist Senator Tom Carper, one of the few Democrats in the Senate who supports Social Security cuts and who recently voted to roll back Dodd-...
In the Senate, Kerri Evelyn Harris is challenging centrist Senator Tom Carper, one of the few Democrats in the Senate who supports Social Security cuts and who recently voted to roll back Dodd-Frank. According to my analysis of American National Election Studies 2016 survey data, 92 percent of Democratic primary voters support more, not less, government regulation of banks, and a mere 3 percent support cuts to Social Security. Given her decade as an organizer, most recently with the Center for Popular Democracy, Harris is approaching the race the way a community organizer would.
Read the full article here.
Más hispanos mueren en NY en trabajos de construcción
El Diario – October 25, 2013, by Juan Matossian -
En el 60% de los casos de fallecimientos por caídas, investigados entre 2003 y 2011 en el estado, la víctima era latino y/o...
El Diario – October 25, 2013, by Juan Matossian -
En el 60% de los casos de fallecimientos por caídas, investigados entre 2003 y 2011 en el estado, la víctima era latino y/o inmigrante
Los obreros de construcción hispanos e inmigrantes sufren muchos másaccidentes y muertes por caídas que otros trabajadores del mismo gremio, debido a las pobres condiciones de seguridad en las que trabajan en el estado de Nueva York, según reveló un estudio.
El reporte, comisionado por el Center for Popular Democracy, muestra que en el 60% de las muertes por caídas en los accidentes, investigados entre 2003 y 2011 en el estado, el fallecido era latino y/o inmigrante.
En la ciudad, esta cifra se incrementa hasta casi el 75% – tres de cada cuatro – a pesar de que sólo supone el 40% de la fuerza total de trabajo en ese reglón.
Encuestas realizadas a empleados latinos evidenciaron que muy pocos se atreven a quejarse por las condiciones de seguridad por temor a represalias de sus jefes.
Problemas de seguridad
Ese fue el caso de Pedro Corchado, un obrero que cayó desde una escalera durante la renovación de un edificio hace cinco años, y sufrió graves heridas por no contar con un arnés de seguridad.
“Casi cualquiera que trabaje en construcción te dirá que es muy difícil negarse a las órdenes de escalar un andamio que no es seguro o subir una escalera sin equipamiento de seguridad”, dijo Corchado. “Para la mayoría de trabajadores como yo, decir ‘no’ al jefe simplemente no es una opción”.
El grupo que elaboró el estudio y otras organizaciones que defienden a estos trabajadores, argumentaron que la mejor manera de detener esta tendencia es aumentar los fondos deOSHA, porque ahora mismo la oficina no cuenta con los suficientes medios ni inspectores.
Calcularon que, para que OSHA inspeccione cada lugar de construcción que hay actualmente en Nueva York, les llevaría 107 años.
Por otro lado, hicieron un llamado para que se proteja la llamada “Ley del Andamio”, que ayuda a asegurar las condiciones de seguridad en los sitios de construcción y que varios promotores inmobiliarios presionan para que se derogue porque incrementa significativamente el coste de nuevos edificios.
“En lugar de invertir en la seguridad en el trabajo, la comunidad de negocios quiere que la responsabilidad por heridas y muertes pase a los que son más vulnerables y no tienen control sobre las condiciones laborales”, denunció Joel Shufro, director ejecutivo delComité para Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de Nueva York. “Pondría a todos los obreros de construcción en riesgo, particularmente a los jornaleros y a los no sindicados”.
Una última petición es que se tomen medidas para asegurar que tanto los promotores, dueños y trabajadores de la construcción, reciban entrenamiento de seguridad de acuerdo con los estándares de OSHA.
Source
My Daughter And I Dressed As Handmaids And Got Arrested To Protest Brett Kavanaugh
My Daughter And I Dressed As Handmaids And Got Arrested To Protest Brett Kavanaugh
The whole time though, we were together with our community of activists and had people waiting for us on the other side. We all sang songs of protest and resistance together, and I could feel the...
The whole time though, we were together with our community of activists and had people waiting for us on the other side. We all sang songs of protest and resistance together, and I could feel the support from everyone around me. It’s hard to explain what an incredible feeling it is to be surrounded by a community that has your back, and I’m especially thankful to organizers and activists from groups like the Center for Popular Democracy and Housing Works for providing action and jail support.
Read the full article here.
Zara exposed for chronic racial profiling
If you’re a huge fan of shopping at Zara, the Spanish fast-fashion franchise, you may want to start spending your money elsewhere.
The fashion...
If you’re a huge fan of shopping at Zara, the Spanish fast-fashion franchise, you may want to start spending your money elsewhere.
The fashion brand has been outed for its deeply engrained racist hiring and customer service practices in arecent survey conducted by the Center for Popular Democracy, a racial, economic and labor justice group. A random sample of two hundred-fifty one out of Zara’s 1,500 Manhattan employees participated in the survey and confided that Black customers are profiled as potential thieves seven times more frequently than white shoppers.
The study, entitled “Stitched with Prejudice: Zara USA’s Corporate Culture of Favoritism” and written by Chaya Crowder, also revealed that Black customers were also more frequently denied exchanges and returns than Whites. Customers weren’t the only people that were racially discriminated in Zara’s stores. Black employees claimed that they were given dissatisfactory hour assignments and stricter surveillance from managers.
“It’s kind of weird to me how they can make millions of dollars but are not able to pay people properly for their time, let alone give people the amount of time that they need in order to support their family, in order to keep a roof over their head, in order to, you know, just feed themselves.” One employee said:
The study had also found that darker-skinned employees were also less likely to promoted to managing roles and were often given less-prestigious roles. Sixty-eight percent of employees that were assigned roles in the back of the store and away from the public had darker complexions. Managers were generally White, and generally gave preferential treatment or were less lenient to subordinates of the same races and ethnic groups. The extent to which Black employees were profiled in their own work environment were sometimes highly disturbing, as portrayed in this incident:
“[O]ne Black employee even detailed an instance in which he had come in a hooded jacket to pick up his check. A sales associate not only identified him as a special order, but he was physically stopped as he was walking into the back office, where checks are kept.”
The study’s findings are not particularly surprising, given Zara’s history of being infamous for racial bias in the brand’s various operations. Just earlier this month, the franchised was served with a $40 million lawsuit from a former worker citing discrimination, unlawful discharge, retaliation and a hostile work environment. The brand also received bad press last year for racist images on its merchandise: pajamas featuring swastikas, a necklace with blackface designs, shirts with gold stars resembling those worn by the Jewish people once held in concentration camps in the Holocaust and a shirt with the words printed saying, “White is the New Black.”
According to Forbes, Zara featured the following statement:
“Zara USA vehemently refutes the findings of the Center for Popular Democracy report which was published without any attempt to contact the company. The baseless report was prepared with ulterior motives and not because of any actual discrimination or mistreatment. It makes assertions that cannot be supported and do not reflect Zara’s diverse workforce.
“Zara USA believes that the report is completely inconsistent with the company’s true culture and the experiences of the over 1,500 Zara employees in New York City. We are an equal opportunity employer, and if there are individuals who are not satisfied with any aspect of their employment, we have multiple avenues for them to raise issues that we would immediately investigate and address.
“Approximately half of all Zara USA employees are Hispanic or African American. In the most recent round of internal promotions at Zara USA, approximately half were Hispanic or African American employees. In addition, approximately half of all hours are regularly allocated to Hispanic or African American employees. These facts clearly demonstrate that diversity and equal opportunity are two of the company’s core values. We are a global multicultural company serving valued customers across 88 countries, and do not tolerate discrimination of any form.”
Welp. I know Zara won’t be seeing my money again anytime soon. It’s a shame, their pencil skirts fit me in all the right places…
Source: New Pittsburgh Courier
The King who carried on the fight for economic justice
The King who carried on the fight for economic justice
Coretta Scott King opposed violence in all its forms — from the personal violence that took her husband 50 years ago Wednesday, to what she described as the economic violence of unemployment and...
Coretta Scott King opposed violence in all its forms — from the personal violence that took her husband 50 years ago Wednesday, to what she described as the economic violence of unemployment and poverty that continues around us.
Read the full article here.
Confronting white supremacy: Radicalized white men are on a reign of terror
Confronting white supremacy: Radicalized white men are on a reign of terror
Radicalized white men are on a reign of terror, and I’m not just talking about the tiki-torch terrorists in Charlottesville. I’m talking about the white men who are threatening our health care,...
Radicalized white men are on a reign of terror, and I’m not just talking about the tiki-torch terrorists in Charlottesville. I’m talking about the white men who are threatening our health care, our schools, our communities, our institutions, and our families through their callous and self-serving policies. Hoods have been replaced by pinstripe suits.
Read the full article here.
110,000 Petition Signatures Call for End to HUD “Wall Street Giveaway,” Fundamental Reforms of Mortgage Sale Program
04.19.2016
A petition organized by a national coalition of homeowner advocates and progressive organizations at ...
04.19.2016
A petition organized by a national coalition of homeowner advocates and progressive organizations at DontSellourHomesToWallStreet.org reached 110,000 signatures today, urging Secretary Julián Castro to immediately reform HUD’s distressed mortgage sales program.
Housing advocates are urging improvements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s delinquent mortgage sales they call a “Wall Street giveaway,” such as principal reduction for homeowners and selling significantly higher percentages of mortgages to nonprofit and other mission-driven entities.
The coalition’s petition launched last Monday to considerable press attention from outlets including the Wall Street Journal and Politico.
Over the past one and a half years the campaign’s call for fundamental reforms have been picked up from quarters as varied as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the New York Times editorial board, and 45 members of Congress who signed a congressional letter to HUD and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in March of this year.
“It makes no sense to sell these loans back to the same predators responsible for the housing crisis in the first place,” said Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director for CPD Action. “Wall Street speculators have a goal of making as much money as possible from our communities, destroying the wealth and stability of neighborhoods of color in the process. This stands in direct conflict with HUD’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.”
On Thursday, FHFA announced reforms to its similar sales of non-performing loans, adding greater principal forgiveness and increasing the chances that homeowners will have their loans modified by their new owners. HUD has yet to make these changes to its distressed mortgage sales program.
The petition to HUD Secretary Julián Castro housed at DontSellOurHomesToWallStreet.org reads in part:
We are disappointed to see that under your leadership, 98% of the delinquent mortgages sold in 2015 through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Distressed Asset Stabilization Program went straight to reckless Wall Street banks…
We call on you to immediately cease sales through the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program until the program is fundamentally reformed so that loans are sold to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations and qualified buyers meeting high standards, not just reckless Wall Street banks.
Homeowner advocates who have campaigned for changes to HUD’s sales of distressed mortgages say the response to-date from HUD has been inadequate.
This disconnect was highlighted by Sec. Julián Castro’s comments to NBC News on Thursday that the campaign was “baffling” because “on the policy, what we have done is actually have made the program much better for homeowners. So we’ve done basically a lot of what they are asking for.”
In fact, over half of the mortgages HUD trumpets as avoiding foreclosure end up in short sales or as deeds in lieu, meaning the homeowners end up losing their homes.
“Many of us were sold toxic loans and have been struggling to hold on to our homes and recover,” said Jose Vega, a community leader and struggling homeowner with Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action. “Latinos and African Americans were targeted for predatory loans and have had particularly high rates of foreclosures. It is shameful that, instead of helping us, HUD is helping Wall Street speculators make more money off of the pain and suffering of homeowners and communities.”
In April 2015, HUD pledged to prioritize sales to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). However, since that date, 98 percent of the loans sold – 15,309 out of 15,624 – went to Wall Street speculators such as private equity giant Blackstone. Only one percent was sold to CDFIs.
“Latino communities are still recovering from the predatory subprime mortgage crisis that stole more than two-thirds of our collective wealth,” said Matt Nelson, Managing Director at Presente.org.“Homeowner advocates have urged serious reforms to this HUD program for the past 18 months. Now it's up to Sec. Castro to end HUD's Wall Street giveaway and reorient the program toward its goal of helping homeowners instead of increasing Wall Street profits.”
“Enough is enough – this selling of our neighborhoods wholesale has got to stop,” said Christina Winslow, a New York Communities for Change member and homeowner from Southeast Queens who lost her home to a short sale after Lone Star bought her mortgage. “This is about the people in my community: We had dreams, and when we needed assistance we were pushed to the side and sold off. My family and my business, like so many others in communities of color, suffered greatly when we were uprooted by the same people who first sold us predatory loans. The federal government needs to realize that you don’t put out a fire by calling the arsonist!”
Among the organizations participating in the national coalition are Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action, CPD Action, Daily Kos, Democracy for America, MoveOn.org Civic Action, New York Communities for Change, Other 98% Action, Presente.org, RootsAction.org, Rootstrikers, and the Working Families Party.
Some key steps in this effort include:
September 9, 2014: Community groups launch campaign and release report: Vulture Capital Hits Home: How HUD is Helping Wall Street and Hurting Our Communities. June 22, 2015: U.S. Conference of Mayors passes resolution that was co-sponsored by 17 Mayors from across the country. September 30, 2015: Community groups and local elected officials converge in D.C. Rally with Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Capuano, and meetings with senior officials at HUD and FHFA. Covered in Bloomberg and the New York Times. October 6, 2015: The New York Times editorial board says these mortgage sales should be suspended until government agencies put real reforms in place and actually increase the proportion of nonprofit buyers. March 1, 2016: Letter sent to HUD and FHFA signed by 45 Members of Congress. April 7, 2016: Rep. Grijalva's letter to Sec. Castro. April 12, 2016: Coalition of national groups launch petition atDontSellourHomesToWallStreet.org urging immediate changes to HUD’s mortgage sales, focused on Secretary Julián Castro, head of HUD.###
Police arrest 155 health care protesters at U.S. Capitol
Police arrest 155 health care protesters at U.S. Capitol
U.S. Capitol Police officers arrested at least 155 demonstrators Wednesday at Senate office buildings, as health care advocates continued to pressure lawmakers two days after a Republican effort...
U.S. Capitol Police officers arrested at least 155 demonstrators Wednesday at Senate office buildings, as health care advocates continued to pressure lawmakers two days after a Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act collapsed.
Police officials said in a statement that officers responded to “demonstration activity” at 45 separate locations in Senate office buildings beginning about 2:15 p.m. Authorities said demonstrators were warned “to cease and desist with their unlawful demonstration activities” before police made arrests, the statement said.
Read the full article here.
10 hours ago
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