It’s Time to Put the Brakes on Runaway Drug Prices
It’s Time to Put the Brakes on Runaway Drug Prices
The movement against ICE is born at the grassroots. Groups like Indivisible Project and the Center for Popular Democracy have also called for defunding ICE.
...
The movement against ICE is born at the grassroots. Groups like Indivisible Project and the Center for Popular Democracy have also called for defunding ICE.
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‘A Declaration of War on Immigrants’: Reactions to Trump’s DACA Decision
‘A Declaration of War on Immigrants’: Reactions to Trump’s DACA Decision
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would stop issuing permits under the Obama era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA and renew existing permits only over...
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would stop issuing permits under the Obama era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA and renew existing permits only over the next six months to give Congress a short window to come up with a replacement program. Here is a sampling of the reaction.
Read the full article here.
New York Families Win $15 Minimum Wage
For Immediate Release
New York Families Win $15 Minimum Wage
Today, the New York Wage Board recommended a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers. In response the...
For Immediate Release
New York Families Win $15 Minimum Wage
Today, the New York Wage Board recommended a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers. In response the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement:
“Today’s announcement is a testament to the strength of workers and community organizations committed to fight for what’s right,” said Tony Perlstein, co-director of campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy. “Our communities are tearing down barriers that keep us from sustaining our families, and today we see the fruit of their labor. The fight for $15 is stronger, and workers limited to part-time jobs scored an important victory.”
“While today’s announcement benefits fast food workers, this moment belongs to everyone who mobilized to make this possible: the carwash workers, grocery store workers, retail workers, airport workers, recycling workers and many more. Their message was loud and clear: we are united for $15, part-time doesn’t pay, and we not stop until every worker has access to dignity and opportunity.”
“I am incredibly happy for fast food workers,” said Elva Meneses, a Laundry worker and New York Communities for Change member making $8.33/hr. “Their courage has inspired low-wage workers across New York. We are no longer afraid to stand up and fight for a living wage. The only thing I’m afraid of is to continue to be working full time and living in poverty. We hope that governor Cuomo doesn't forget about the rest of the low-wage workers and that we also win $15 in the near future.”
“Today’s victory happened because workers joined by the thousands to speak up at public hearings and rallies across the state,” said Paola Angel, a member of Make the Road New York. “We all deserve a fair chance to succeed, not a minimum wage that guarantees our continued poverty. Going forward, let there be no doubt: we will continue the Fight for $15 in Albany to ensure that all workers in all industries get a fair wage. This is be a critical step in a larger struggle for all of us.”
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CPD works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda.
Latinos Presentan La Mayor Tasa De Mortalidad Por Accidentes En Industria De La Construcción De Nueva York
Latinos Post – October 25, 2013 -
La población hispana e inmigrante que es empleada en el sector de la construcción del estado de Nueva York es el grupo étnico más vulnerable a...
Latinos Post – October 25, 2013 -
La población hispana e inmigrante que es empleada en el sector de la construcción del estado de Nueva York es el grupo étnico más vulnerable a los accidentes fatales en su lugar de trabajo, según reveló este jueves 24 de octubre un reporte realizado por el Centro por la Democracia Popular.
De acuerdo con El Diario NY, Los datos arrojados por el estudio, muestran que entre 2003 y 2011, del total de muertes por caídas y accidentes en las construcciones registrados en La Gran Manzana, el 60% de los casos los fallecidos resultaron ser hombres hispanos y/o inmigrantes.
Se trata de una cifra alarmante ya que 75 trabajadores de la construcción mueren por accidentes de manera anual en el estado de Nueva York, según dio a conocer la periodista Blanca Rosa Vílchez a la cadena de noticias de Univisión.
La fuente señala que en Nueva York el 41% de los trabajadores del sector construcción son hispanos. Sin embargo, el informe dado a conocer este jueves demostró que el 74% de las muertes por accidentes corresponden al mismo grupo étnico.
Un problema de seguridad
El pasado 24 de septiembre, trabajadores de la construcción en Brooklyn se manifestaron para exigir mejoras en las condiciones de seguridad en sus lugares de trabajo, luego de que reportaran una importante alza en los accidentes relacionadas con la escasa inversión en esta materia que las compañías constructores ofrecen, lo que ha causado graves accidentes que en muchos casos han cobrado la vida de trabajadores que reciben un salario mínimo.
En su momento Diario NY dio a conocer que los obreros se manifestaron en el 227 de la avenida Carlton, en Fort Greene, lugar en el que el 10 de septiembre un trabajador de 62 años perdió la vida al venirse abajo el techo de uno de los apartamentos en los que trabajaba.
De acuerdo con los manifestantes, las compañías contratistas de Nueva York compran materiales de mala calidad con tal de ahorrar dinero y no invierten en cursos de seguridad para sus trabajadores, lo que deja a los constructores en una situación peligrosa.
Miedo a denunciar por falta de documentación legal
La comunidad latina que trabaja en la construcción es doblemente vulnerable a esta situación, ya que muchos de los obreros son inmigrantes indocumentados, por lo que en caso de sufrir algún accidente prefieren no denunciar a la empresa constructora por miedo a ser deportados o despedidos.
Por si esto fuera poco, en caso de reportar violaciones a las normas de seguridad, las multas a las compañías constructoras son por montos muy bajos, lo que facilita que se siga omitiendo la inversión en seguridad en los lugares de trabajo.
Según destaca Univisión, las multas a las que se enfrentan las constructoras no superan los 2 mil dólares en caso de accidente, y los 12 mil en caso de muerte de un trabajador, una cifra que refleja la dimensión de los riesgos con los que los obreros de la construcción deben trabajar todos los días.
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Why I Let D.C. Cops Drag My Body out of the Capitol
"Why don't you spend more money on health care instead of ugly, fake Colonial furniture for Senate offices!"
That's just one of the things I remember yelling on Thursday, July 10, as I sat...
"Why don't you spend more money on health care instead of ugly, fake Colonial furniture for Senate offices!"
That's just one of the things I remember yelling on Thursday, July 10, as I sat on the floor outside the office of Lamar Alexander, Republican senator from Tennessee, in the District of Columbia's Dirksen Senate Office Building, waiting for the D.C. Capitol police, about a dozen of whom had assembled, to carry me away.
Read the full article here.
JPMorgan boss: 'Trump is our pilot' even when we disagree
JPMorgan boss: 'Trump is our pilot' even when we disagree
Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and one of the few big-bank bosses to keep his job after the Great Recession, will keep advising President Trump even when...
Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and one of the few big-bank bosses to keep his job after the Great Recession, will keep advising President Trump even when they might disagree, Dimon told shareholders at the company's annual meeting at its Delaware Technology Center north of Wilmington.
"Trump is the pilot flying our airplane," and as "a patriot" Dimon will continue to serve on a Presidential advisory panel, even though he may not "agree with all his policies," he said during a shareholder question-and-answer session.
Read full article here.
Labor Unions Will Be Smaller After Supreme Court Decision, but Maybe Not Weaker
Labor Unions Will Be Smaller After Supreme Court Decision, but Maybe Not Weaker
With the Supreme Court striking down laws that require government workers to pay union fees, one thing is clear: Most public-sector unions in more than 20 states with such laws are going to get...
With the Supreme Court striking down laws that require government workers to pay union fees, one thing is clear: Most public-sector unions in more than 20 states with such laws are going to get smaller and poorer in the coming years. Though it is difficult to predict with precision, experts and union officials say they could lose 10 percent to one-third of their members, or more, in the states affected, as conservative groups seek to persuade workers to drop out. Read the full article here.
Hold the Fed Accountable: Opposing View
USA Today - March 17, 2015, by Mark Weisbrot - Should the Federal Reserve raise interest rates in order to create more unemployment and keep wages from rising? If the question were asked that way...
USA Today - March 17, 2015, by Mark Weisbrot - Should the Federal Reserve raise interest rates in order to create more unemployment and keep wages from rising? If the question were asked that way, the vast majority of Americans would say, "No!"
It is not posed in this manner, even though economists — including Fed economists — and many journalists who write for the business press know that this is exactly what the Fed will be doing when it raises interest rates.
Of course, the justification is that we "need" to do this in order to keep inflation from rising to harmful levels. But the Consumer Price Index is actually down slightly for the year ending in January; in other words, inflation is in negative territory. Why should anyone want to increase unemployment just to keep inflation down?
OUR VIEW: Why it's good news if Fed loses 'patience'
When the Fed increases unemployment, it increases it twice as much for African Americans as for everyone else. And higher unemployment also reduces wage growth much more for African-American workers and lower-wage workers. Across the board, more unemployment translates very directly into more income inequality.
This is no time to be increasing unemployment and inequality, and pushing down wages. Median household income in the U.S. is still down about 3% since the recession ended in mid-2009. For the vast majority of the workforce, wages have stagnated or declined since 1979. Meanwhile, in the first three years of the current economic recovery, the top 1% of Americans received 91% of all income gains.
Fortunately, for probably the first time in the Fed's century of existence, there is a grass-roots movement to hold America's central bank accountable to the voters, citizens and working people of this country. A coalition led by the Center for Popular Democracy is "Fed Up" and trying to make sure that the Fed doesn't cut off wage growth before it even gets rolling.
If America is to shed the title of "Land of Inequality," this is how it is going to happen: by more people becoming aware of how the Fed's monetary policy affects them and demanding that it change.
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300+ Arrested in Mass Civil Disobedience Protests at the Nation's Capitol
300+ Arrested in Mass Civil Disobedience Protests at the Nation's Capitol
By Greenpeace
In the final day of a record-setting week of civil disobedience at the Capitol, more than 300 people were arrested Monday as they demanded democracy reforms.
Yesterday'...
By Greenpeace
In the final day of a record-setting week of civil disobedience at the Capitol, more than 300 people were arrested Monday as they demanded democracy reforms.
Yesterday's arrests came on the third and final day of Democracy Awakening. Combined with arrests made during the recent Democracy Spring, the protests constituted what organizers believe is a record for civil disobedience over democracy issues during this century.
The message: On voting rights, money in politics and the recent vacancy on U.S. Supreme Court, Congress is failing to do its job and ignoring the will of the people. Democracy Awakening isn't the end of something, but the beginning of a new phase in the movement for democracy, organizers said.
Those who planned to risk arrest included NAACP president and CEO Cornell William Brooks; the Rev. William Barber II, pastor and Moral Monday architect; radio commentator Jim Hightower; Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben and Jerry's; Greenpeace Executive Director Annie Leonard; and Sierra Club President Aaron Mair.
Here's what they had to say about why they risked arrest at our nation's Capitol:
"I'm willing to risk arrest, arm in arm with partners from the civil rights and the labor movements, in order to help fix our democracy," Leonard said. "We will never get the kind of political progress needed to challenge climate change and systemic racism if corporate cash continues to mean more to politicians than the voices of the people."
"Democracy is supposed to be for all of us, but right now we have an out-of-balance system favoring the interests of big money," Cohen said. "This can't go on. I'm prepared to risk arrest to send a message that democracy should truly be of, by, and for the people."
"At a certain point, you have to say enough is enough," Greenfield said. "I have decided to risk arrest because we can't continue to have a political system where ordinary people are shut out of the process. It's not what our founders envisioned, and it's not what democracy is supposed to be about."
"We cannot sit by and watch obstructionists push an agenda of inequity, injustice and inaction -- and I'm willing to risk being arrested in order to make my voice heard in in the fight to ensure that every voice can be heard in our democracy," Mair said. "All too often, the costs of these assaults on our democracy fall on low-income communities and communities of color that already face disproportionate effects from pollution and the climate crisis. A zip code should never dictate the destiny of any American citizen."
Thousands of activists from around the country streamed into the nation's capital April 16-18 for Democracy Awakening, which featured teach-ins, a rally, a march and lobbying as well as the civil disobedience. The aim: to fight back against business as usual in Washington, DC.
More than 300 organizations endorsed Democracy Awakening. Democracy Awakening is part of a broad movement aimed at advancing democracy reforms. The mobilization began April 2, with Democracy Spring, an event that featured a march from Philadelphia to Washington D.C., followed by six days of sit-ins at the Capitol.
Others who planned to risk arrest included top leaders of the AFL-CIO, All Souls Unitarian Church, the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Postal Workers Union, Campaign for America's Future, Democracy Initiative, Center for Popular Democracy, Communications Workers of America, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Every Voice, Food & Water Watch, Franciscan Action Network, Free Speech for People, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Jobs With Justice, the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church; the NAACP, Oil Change International, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, the United Church of Christ, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, We Are Casa, the Yes Men and 350.org.
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Kamala Harris Fails to Explain Why She Didn’t Prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s Bank
Kamala Harris Fails to Explain Why She Didn’t Prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s Bank
FORMER CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY General Kamala Harris on Wednesday vaguely acknowledged The Intercept’s report about her declining to prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s OneWest Bank for foreclosure violations...
FORMER CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY General Kamala Harris on Wednesday vaguely acknowledged The Intercept’s report about her declining to prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s OneWest Bank for foreclosure violations in 2013, but offered no explanation.
“It’s a decision my office made,” she said, in response to questions from The Hill shortly after being sworn in as California’s newest U.S. senator.
“We went and we followed the facts and the evidence, and it’s a decision my office made,” Harris said. “We pursued it just like any other case. We go and we take a case wherever the facts lead us.”
Mnuchin is Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Treasury Department, and served as CEO of OneWest from 2009 to 2015. In an internal memo published on Tuesday by The Intercept, prosecutors at the California attorney general’s office said they had found over a thousand violations of foreclosure laws by his bank during that time, and predicted that further investigation would uncover many thousands more.
But the investigation into what the memo called “widespread misconduct” was closed after Harris’s office declined to file a civil enforcement action against the bank.
Harris’s statement on Tuesday doesn’t explain how involved she was with the decision to not prosecute, or why the decision was made. She also would not say whether the revelations would disqualify Mnuchin for the position of treasury secretary. “The hearings will reveal if it’s disqualifying or not, but certainly he has a history that should be critically examined, as do all of the nominees,” Harris told The Hill. She added that she would review the background and history of all Trump cabinet nominees.
Senate Democrats have vowed to put up a fight over Mnuchin — even creating a website inviting homeowners to list their complaints against OneWest. And yet not one senator has commented publicly on the leaked memo, which received media coverage in Politico, Bloomberg, the New York Post, CBS News, Vanity Fair, CNN, CNBC, and other outlets.
The Intercept has reached out to half a dozen Senate Democratic offices, including those of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and leading Mnuchin critics Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, receiving no response.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., retweeted the story, as did the Twitter account of the Democratic National Committee. But another DNC tweet just hours later hinted at the bind Democrats are in when it comes to using the information against Mnuchin. That tweet praised Harris’s swearing-in. Her decision not to prosecute may make her new colleagues wary of pursuing it.
Progressive groups have not been so reluctant. Three groups — the Rootstrikers project at Demand Progress, the Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up Campaign, and the California Reinvestment Coalition – have called for a delay of Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing until he publicly discloses all settlements and lawsuits OneWest has faced from its foreclosure-related activities, responds fully to all questions submitted by members of the Senate Finance Committee, and publicly discloses his role in obstructing the California attorney general investigation, or any others.
The California Reinvestment Coalition followed that up on Thursday by asking OneWest to release the obstructed evidence, which involved loan files held by a third party then known as Lender Processing Services (it’s now called Black Knight Financial Services). “That’s something the Senate Finance Committee should ask him for, prior to scheduling their hearing with him,” said Paulina Gonzalez, executive director of the California Reinvestment Coalition.
Mnuchin has already declined to answer a detailed list of questions from Finance Committee member Sherrod Brown, which Brown sent before the release of the leaked memo.
After The Intercept story was published, Mnuchin spokesperson Barney Keller called it “meritless,” and highlighted OneWest’s completion of a foreclosure review with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (which involved completely separate issues from the California inquiry) and what he claimed was OneWest’s issuance of over 100,000 loan modifications to borrowers.
“Memos like this belong in the garbage, not the news,” Keller said.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, an organizing group that made headlines in 2010 by protesting on Mnuchin’s front lawn over OneWest’s foreclosure practices, expressed disbelief that he could now become treasury secretary. “My family lived first hand the fraud and unethical behavior under his leadership when I was told to default before they could help me, and (was) instead pushed into foreclosure,” said Peggy Mears, a OneWest victim.
ACCE plans to ask incoming California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to take up the prosecution of OneWest based on the newly released evidence. And the group vowed to fight the Mnuchin nomination. “No one who oversaw the defrauding of thousands of homeowners should be allowed to serve watch over our country’s money,” Mears said.
By David Dayen
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13 hours ago
13 hours ago