Why Are Homeowners Being Jailed for Demanding Wall Street Prosecutions?
A two-day long housing protest outside the Department of Justice this week has resulted in nearly 30 arrests and several instances of law enforcement unnecessarily using tasers on activists, according to eye-witnesses. The action – which was organized by a coalition of housing advocacy groups, including the Home Defenders League and Occupy Our Homes – called for Attorney General Eric Holder to begin prosecutions against the bankers who created the foreclosure crisis.
"Everyone here is fed up with Holder acknowledging big banks did really bad stuff but [saying] they're too big to jail," says Greg Basta, deputy director of New York Communities for Change, who helped organize the event. Holder has previously suggested that prosecuting large banks would be difficult because it could destabilize the economy. The attorney general recently tried to walk those comments back – but the conspicuous lack of criminal prosecutions of bankers tells another story, one that Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi has written about extensively.
Alexis Goldstein, a former Wall Street employee and current Occupy Wall Street activist who was also at the event on Monday, agrees. "I want Eric Holder to uphold the rule of law, regardless of how much power the criminal has," says Goldstein. She says the lack of criminal prosecutions has created a "culture of immunity" that only gets further entrenched by the small settlements that banks now consider a cost of doing business. "There's no risk," she says, adding that the DOJ is effectively "incentivizing breaking the law."
Around 400 homeowners and 100 supporters took part in Monday's actions outside the DOJ, according to Basta. One of them was Vera Johnson, of Seattle. "I've been dealing with foreclosure issues for three years," says Johnson, just minutes after being released from the jail where she was held for over 24 hours for participating in this peaceful protest. Bank of America recently granted Johnson a loan modification after the media picked up on a Change.org petition that she started to save her home; this reprieve turned out to be a time bomb, as her rates were set to return to their original levels after four years. It's an all too common story, and Johnson went to Washington, D.C. to "join in solidarity" with others in similar situations.
Many of this week's protesters have been black and Latino homeowners, who were hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis. Mildred Garrison-Obi – a black woman from Stone Mountain, Georgia – was evicted from her home in 2012, though with the help of Occupy Our Homes she was able to return to it after four months of facing homelessness. "It was devastating," says Garrison-Obi, who was arrested today in a related action held outside of a law firm where Holder was once a partner. "But I'm not alone."
Activists note with dismay that the government has been significantly harder on people who stage nonviolent demonstrations against Wall Street than it has on the crooked bankers responsible for the housing crisis. Goldstein and Basta both say they witnessed law enforcement using tasers on multiple protesters this week. Johnson says that several hours before her arrest, as she and others sat on planter boxes outside the DOJ, a Department of Homeland Security officer asked, "Do you want to get arrested?" and then, "Do you want to get tased?" Later, when she refused to unlock her arms with another protester after three warnings – hardly a violent act or a threat to public safety – she says she was tased from behind on her left arm. She turned around to see the same officer, who she recalls telling her, "That's what you get."
Carmen Pittman, an activist with Occupy Our Homes in Atlanta, suffered similar treatment at this week's protests. In video footage of her arrest, Pittman appears to have her arms interlocked with another protester.
Lawyers familiar with police codes of conduct note that this kind of passive resistance generally does not meet the official standards for when an officer can use a taser. "In a study of regulations around tasers, the National Institute of Justice found that most police departments do not allow taser use against someone who 'nonviolently refuses' a police command," says NYU law professor Sarah Knuckey, who co-authored a report on the suppression of the rights of Occupy activists. "The incident needs to be thoroughly investigated, there must be a public accounting of what happened and why, and any wrong-doing must be punished."
A spokesperson for the Washington, D.C. police department directed requests for comment to the Federal Protective Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security. Scott McConnell, an FPS spokesperson, said that "a number of individuals" had "breached a security barricade after repeated warnings to leave the area" and that there had been 27 arrests as of Tuesday morning; he declined to comment on the video of Pittman getting tased or on FPS's taser policy generally.
Monday and Tuesday's actions came as the DOJ falls under increasing criticism for its investigations of journalists – first seizing records that cover dozens of Associated Press reporters, and now targeting Fox News' James Rosen. Many media observers have found the Rosen case especially troubling, due to the fact that he was investigated under the theory that he engaged in a conspiracy with Stephen Kim – his source – to leak government information. This is the same theory that U.S. officials have used to go after Wikileaks, and if applied more widely, it would effectively criminalize the basic act of investigative reporting. Some see the Obama DOJ's war on whistleblowers and leakers – and now journalists – less as a means of protecting national security than a way to crack down on who controls information.
As journalists start to get the feeling that their profession is under attack by Obama's DOJ, that department is saying something entirely different – though just as clearly – to the nation's financial elite. "The message," says Goldstein, "is that you can get away with anything."
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Main Street Takes on Monetary Policy, Round 2
Washington Post - November 14, by Ylan Mui - Main Street plans to take on the maestros of monetary policy today, armed with a list of demands aimed at prolonging central bank stimulus and...
Washington Post - November 14, by Ylan Mui - Main Street plans to take on the maestros of monetary policy today, armed with a list of demands aimed at prolonging central bank stimulus and increasing public input.
The campaign has been dubbed “Fed Up” and is made up of 20 community and labor groups, ranging from the Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment to the behemoth AFL-CIO. The groups plans to demonstrate in front of the Federal Reserve’s august headquarters on Constitution Avenue on Friday morning. They are slated to present their proposals to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in a meeting scheduled for this afternoon.
“The point is to start a public conversation and include more voices in it,” said Ady Barkan, staff attorney at the Center for Popular Democracy, one of the groups leading the effort.
Still, debates over macroeconomics can qickly turn wonky. Among the campaign’s requests are for the Fed to reconsider its 2 percent target for inflation and for the central bank to start purchasing municipal bonds to jumpstart local infrastructure projects -- issues that typically don’t come up at the water cooler.
But several other proposals strike a more populist note. The groups says the Fed should wait until there is a significant reduction in the gap in unemployment rate of black and white workers, as well as an increase in the number of women in the force, before it decides to raise interest rates. The coalition also wants the Fed to conduct research on the impact of progressive economic policy proposals -- namely raising the minimum wage and requiring paid sick leave.
Finally, it is seeking time for public comment during the central bank’s policy meetings and a more inclusive process for appointing officials at the Fed’s regional banks.
In some ways, the campaign’s effort coincides with the central bank’s goals. Under former Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed dramatically increased transparency. It now holds regular press conferences, publishes detailed economic forecasts and attempts to communicate its policy positions.
Current Fed Chair Janet Yellen has made a particular effort to connect monetary policy to Main Street. She recounted the personal stories of struggling workers during a speech in Chicago early this year and visited a jobs training center in Boston last month. She has cited the elevated unemployment rate for African Americans several times as evidence that the nation’s broader economic recovery may not be deeply rooted.
“The recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, and it also looks that way in some economic statistics,” Yellen said in her Chicago speech.
The Fed also already produces a vast array of research on domestic policy issues. In fact, progressive groups - including at least one involved in the campaign -- frequently cite a study by the Chicago Fed as evidence that raising the minimum wage can boost incomes and spur consumer spending.
Barkan said the campaign is intended to be a counterpoint to the vocal minority of Fed officials who have been calling for the central bank to raise rates soon in response to the improving economy. But even officials counseling patience are not going far enough, Barkan said.
“There’s a lot in there that the Fed has yet to do,” he said. “We want them to be bold and ambitious in their effort to improve the economy.”
Friday will mark the second time demonstrators have confronted Fed officials. This summer, the group traveled to the Kansas City Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., an invite-only affair that draws some of the world’s most powerful economic policymakers. The protest was the first time since the 1980s that there has been a grassroots response to monetary policy decisions.
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When Bosses Schedule Hours That Just Don't Work
Gap follows Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbucks and Victoria’s Secret in promising to end on-call scheduling. It took ...
Gap follows Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbucks and Victoria’s Secret in promising to end on-call scheduling. It took strong public and regulatory pressure to get the companies to change, but change they have.
Unfortunately, unpredictable scheduling is still widespread.According to federal data, 66 percent of food service workers, 52 percent of retail workers and 40 percent of janitors and house cleaners have at most a week’s notice of their schedules.
On-call scheduling is but one of many dubious pay and scheduling practices. Workers who show up for a scheduled shift may be sent home without pay if business is slow. Schedules can fluctuate from week to week, making it hard to manage family life or calculate a budget.
Victoria’s Secret engages in still another questionable practice. Salespeople are offered a bonus based on a formula that takes into account sales per hour. But the calculation includes hours when the store is closed — hours spent tidying up, for instance, when there is obviously no chance to make sales. By reducing the sales-per-hour number, this formula can put a bonus out of reach. Victoria’s Secret would not comment on its bonus policy.
The fundamental problem is that as scheduling has become a tool for higher profits, it has also generated unfair practices. Software lets employers calibrate maximum profit at minimum labor cost. Managers are often compensated on the efficiency of their staff. A retail manager’s best employee would not necessarily be the top seller, but rather the one who sells the most at the lowest pay.
Then, too, there is abuse of overtime, in which a company shifts work from hourly workers eligible for time-and-a-half pay to salaried workers who are ineligible for overtime pay. A former salaried executive assistant manager at Walgreens, Caleb Sneeringer, said his hours ballooned to up to 70 a week when the chain stopped scheduling most hourly workers for overtime around 2010. Walgreens says it does not have a no-overtime policy and tries to manage “overtime hours efficiently while providing a high level of customer service.”
A rule recently proposed by the Labor Department would be both fair and efficient. It would make salaried employees eligible for overtime if they make less than $50,440 a year. (The current threshold, which has barely budged since 1975, is $23,660.) Retailers and other low-wage employers strongly oppose the proposal. Meanwhile, bills in Congress and some stateswould curb some of the most disruptive scheduling practices, including on-call shifts or sending workers home early without pay. Approving these bills will require lawmakers to put the interests of workers ahead of their corporate contributors.
Source: New York Times
Liberals Turn to Cities to Pass Laws and Spread Ideas
If Congress won’t focus on a new policy idea, and if state legislatures are indifferent or hostile, why not skip them both and start at the city level?
That’s the...
If Congress won’t focus on a new policy idea, and if state legislatures are indifferent or hostile, why not skip them both and start at the city level?
That’s the approach with a proposed law in San Francisco to require businesses there to pay for employees’ parental leaves.
It might seem like a progressive pipe dream, the kind of liberal policy that could happen only in a place like San Francisco. But Scott Wiener, the city and county supervisor who proposed the policy, sees it differently.
“The more local jurisdictions that tackle these issues, the more momentum there is for statewide and eventually national action,” he said.
It’s part of a broader movement, mostly led by liberal policy makers, to take on not just the duties that make cities run — like road maintenance and recycling — but also bigger political issues. Think soda taxes, universal health care, calorie counts on menus, mandatory composting and bans on smoking indoors.
The federal government is too gridlocked to make anything happen, these policy makers say. So they are turning to cities, hoping they can act as incubators for ideas and pave the way for state and federal governments to follow.
Conservatives used the strategy in the 1960s and 1970s, often for anti-regulatory policies. On the liberal side, Baltimore helped inspire others by passing a living wage law in 1994. The method has grown more popular in recent years, said Margaret Weir, a professor at Brown University who studies urban politics.
“Historically, especially for groups that want more government action and more generous social and economic policies, they could go to the federal government and achieve those things,” Ms. Weir said. “That has become more difficult. It’s a reflection of the loss of power at the federal level.”
Opponents have frequently responded by trying to limit the legislative power of cities. Many states have passed so-called pre-emption laws, which block cities from making their own laws on certain issues, including gun control, plastic bag bans, paid leave, fracking, union membership and the minimum wage. It’s a strategy pioneered by the tobacco lobby and later much used by the National Rifle Association. In all but seven states, state laws pre-empt local gun laws.
The pro-business American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, has pushed for many of the pre-emption laws. More recently, however, it has adopted the methods of its opponents. It has helped policy makers in local government make laws to reduce the size of government, for instance, even when states decline to do so.
One division of ALEC, called the American City County Exchange, has most notably pushed for local right-to-work laws to allow workers who are members of a union to opt out of paying dues. Yet in other cases, it has drafted legislation to prevent cities from coming up with their own laws, including on issues like plastic bag bans and containers for composting.
“Sometimes cities and counties overstep the powers they’ve been given,” said Jon Russell, director of the exchange and a town councilman in Culpeper, Va. “There are certain times states and cities are going to disagree, but for the most part, we’re going to figure out ways to resolve certain regulatory issues while staying in our lanes.”
The demographics of big urban centers — often more liberal and diverse than other parts of the country, and more likely to be governed by a single party — foster more progressive policy-making than elsewhere.
And that policy-making does seem to bubble upward to the national level. Workers’ rights are one of the main focuses of today’s urban politics, and several such city policies are now getting state and national attention, including in the presidential campaign. Paid sick leave is an example. The first city to require it was San Francisco in 2006. It is now the law in 23 cities and states, and President Obama last fall required federal contractorsto provide it. (Meanwhile, more than a dozen states have pre-emption laws to stop cities from requiring paid sick leave.)
Minimum wage is another example. SeaTac, Wash., passed a $15 minimum wage in 2013. Nearby Seattle followed, and then so did San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mountain View, Calif., and Emeryville, Calif.
Fourteen states have since changed their minimum wage laws, two bills in Congress would do the same nationally, and all three Democratic presidential contenders have said they would raise the federal minimum wage.
“It’s all due to victories at the city level,” said Ady Barkan, co-director of Local Progress, a network of local progressive elected officials. “They actually did it and showed it was possible politically and as a policy matter.”
But many of these policies have not caught on widely. Take soda taxes: Berkeley, Calif., is the only city to have passed one. Similar laws have failed in San Francisco and New York state.
Other city legislation that could eventually be passed at the state or federal level includes those related to drones, ride-hailing and home-sharing.
San Francisco’s paid parental leave policy, which would be the first such law in the nation, would apply to all businesses with at least 20 employees, some of whom work at least some of the time in the city, including national chains that do not offer paid leave to workers elsewhere.
Californians already receive paid parental leave from the state. It is one of three states to offer it; the state’s temporary disability fund pays 55 percent of workers’ salaries, up to a maximum salary of $105,000. In San Francisco, companies would pay the remainder for six weeks of “bonding leave” for all new parents, including fathers, same-sex parents and adoptive parents.
The city’s board of supervisors, which will vote on the policy, has not a single Republican. It would be a much harder sell almost anywhere else.
From Mr. Wiener’s point of view, that gives the board a responsibility: “To push the envelope on these issues, because we can.”
Source: New York Times
Rally scheduled and website started in support for Pittsburgh immigrant in process of being deported
Rally scheduled and website started in support for Pittsburgh immigrant in process of being deported
After City Paper reported the story of Martin Esquivel-Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico with no criminal record who is currently in the process of being deported, CP editor Charlie...
After City Paper reported the story of Martin Esquivel-Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico with no criminal record who is currently in the process of being deported, CP editor Charlie Deitch called for Pittsburghers to get involved in the fight to keep Esquivel-Hernandez in the Steel City.
And many have responded. On July 8, more than 100 marchers will rally in support of Esquivel-Hernandez and “to oppose the politics of hate and fear,” according to the group’s Facebook page. The supporters are particularly calling out presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, from Pa., for their remarks and actions against undocumented immigrants. (Trump has called Mexican immigrants rapists, and Toomey sponsored a bill to block funding to “sanctuary cities,” or ones that refuse to communicate with the Department of Homeland Security about undocumented immigrants without warrants; the bill was blocked recently by U.S. Senate Democrats.)
In fact, Esquivel-Hernandez was picked up by immigration officers most likely because he had been cited for driving without a valid license in Mount Lebanon, a town without a sanctuary city-like policy. Lt. Duane Fisher, of the Mount Lebanon Police, says the township's general policy is to make contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if police “find someone who is unlicensed” and to see whether ICE has “any reason to see if [the suspect] is wanted.” Fisher says that from there, Mount Lebanon police don’t follow up on the case, and that it becomes ICE’s call. Pittsburgh, while not a sanctuary city, has a policy to not initiate contact with ICE, but will cooperate if contacted.
Immigration will be a main topic at the public march on Friday, which will coincide with the People’s Convention being held Downtown, and begins at 2:30 p.m. at 10th Street and Penn Avenue. For those wishing to provide further support to the Esquivel-Hernandez family, a website has been created (keeptheesquivelfamilytogether.com) where supporters can sign a letter to U.S. District Attorney David Hickton, who is prosecuting the case against Esquivel-Hernandez, that asks Hickton to drop the felony re-entry charges.
The groups rallying around Esquivel-Hernandez include the Pittsburgh chapter of the Labor Council for Latino Advancement, Latino outreach group Casa San José, nonprofit coalition One Pittsburgh, and social-justice-advocacy group the Thomas Merton Center.
A message in support of Esquivel-Hernandez is written on the website: “We sincerely believe Hickton is using this charge to brand Martín as a criminal deserving of jail time and immediate deportation. Martín does not belong in a prison cell. He should be back with his family and the community that loves and needs him the most.”
Esquivel-Hernandez has been in Pittsburgh for more than four years and has been involved in an assessment of Latino needs for Allegheny County; advocated for better translation services in Pittsburgh schools; and marched in immigrant-rights rallies.
The Obama administration has said that it will prosecute undocumented immigrants who threaten public safety, but the advocacy groups claim that Esquivel-Hernandez does not fit into that category given his lack of a criminal record and positive involvement in the community.
Donations can also be given on the website, or people can send a check to Pittsburgh LCLAA with “solidarity with Esquivel family” written on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to:
Pittsburgh LCLAA
United Steelworkers
Attn.: Guillermo Perez
60 Blvd. of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA. 15222
By Ryan Deto
Source
Escuelas Chárter: Encuesta Cuestiona su Función y Pone la Lupa en sus Finanzas
Miami Diario - March 4, 2015 by Donatella Ungredda - Existe una preocupación creciente entre padres, representantes, maestros y contribuyentes a nivel regional y nacional con relación al...
Miami Diario - March 4, 2015 by Donatella Ungredda - Existe una preocupación creciente entre padres, representantes, maestros y contribuyentes a nivel regional y nacional con relación al rendimiento y cumplimiento de los objetivos educativos establecidos para las escuelas chárter. Las escuelas chárter son una forma más libre de educación pública o privada. Usualmente son fundadas por padres o maestros, manejadas por organizaciones con y sin fines de lucro; funcionan independientemente del sistema de educación pública y hacen hincapié en métodos y aéreas educativas más específicas. Normalmente atienden a un universo mucho más variado de alumnos y deben cubrir los requerimientos de educación especial de los mismos. El tamaño de las clases es más pequeño y en general se espera que tengan un nivel de rendimiento superior al promedio ya que, en teoría, al ser más libres de ensayar nuevas metodologías los alumnos encuentran más oportunidades para explotar sus capacidades. Estas instituciones conviven con las escuelas públicas que están sometidas a los estándares y regulaciones del Departamento de Educación y se mantienen con fondos públicos así como recolección de fondos privados. El crecimiento del número de escuelas chárter a nivel nacional se ha duplicado tres veces desde su implementación en el año 2000, según Donald Cohen, Director Ejecutivo de la organización no gubernamental In The Public Interest (ITPI). Cohen, junto a Kyle Serrette del Centro para la Democracia Popular (Center for Popular Democracy, CPD), revelaron los resultados de una reciente encuesta realizada entre un universo de 1000 votantes: la gran mayoría apoya la existencia de las escuelas chárter, pero asimismo exige una más exhaustiva supervisión del funcionamiento de estas instituciones, así como la realización de auditorías en sus finanzas, dados los pobres resultados académicos y la falta de transparencia en su administración. "Las escuelas chárter han estado presentes desde hace 20 años, y su funcionamiento se implementó para servir de ejemplo, marco referencial para la reforma del sistema educativo estadounidense. Nuestras investigaciones nos han revelado que 75% de las escuelas chárter han tenido un rendimiento igual o peor que las escuelas públicas para las cuales se supone debían servir como modelo de reforma. Este es un síntoma de falta de supervisión de parte de los responsables", afirmó Serrette "Lo que estamos tratando de lograr es poner un alto al crecimiento momentáneamente y asegurarnos que estamos obteniendo unos resultados educativos idóneos. Recordemos que estas escuelas se financian con fondos públicos y tomando en cuenta las dificultades que enfrenta la nación, debemos hacer una pausa y asegurarnos que tenemos una serie de medidas legales robustas para la protección de los alumnos, maestros y contribuyentes", agregó Cohen. ITPI y CPD consultaron a los encuestados acerca de una serie de 11 propuestas para la mejor supervisión de las escuelas chárter y su administración y en base a los resultados obtenidos dieron a conocer su Agenda de Responsabilidad de las Escuelas Chárter. Las 11 propuestas son abarcadas por 4 puntos principales: · Transparencia y responsabilidad, · Protección a las escuelas del vecindario, · Protección de los fondos aportados por los contribuyentes, · Educación de alta calidad para cada alumno.
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Hundreds of New Yorkers gather at MOMA PS1 to raise money for Puerto Rico
Hundreds of New Yorkers gather at MOMA PS1 to raise money for Puerto Rico
The movement to help hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico continues. Hundreds of New Yorkers attended a fundraiser at MOMA PS1 in Long Island City Wednesday night.
According to organizers, all the...
The movement to help hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico continues. Hundreds of New Yorkers attended a fundraiser at MOMA PS1 in Long Island City Wednesday night.
According to organizers, all the money raised for the Hurricane Maria Community Relief and Recovery Fund will go towards relief work and supplies on the island.
Watch the video and read the article here.
Congress to Consider Bill to Help Part-Timers
New York Post - July 22, 2014, by James Covert - Part-timers with increasingly unpredictable work schedules are taking their beef to Washington.
A congressional bill is slated for...
New York Post - July 22, 2014, by James Covert - Part-timers with increasingly unpredictable work schedules are taking their beef to Washington.
A congressional bill is slated for introduction Tuesday that would give workers more control over their hourly schedules at big retailers like Walmart, Home Depot and JCPenney.
Led by Walmart, major chains increasingly are switching around workers’ shifts on short notice, making it difficult and often impossible for part-timers to work second jobs.
The practice — common in retail, restaurant, janitorial and housekeeping jobs — has hit working mothers especially hard, according to critics.
Unpredictable work hours make it difficult to schedule everything from babysitters to doctor’s appointments.
“I think it’s gotten to a crisis point,” said Carrie Gleason, director of the Fair Workweek Initiative, a new campaign by the Center for Popular Democracy, adding workers need “some amount of predictability and stability in our work hours so we can live and manage our lives.”
The bill, sponsored by US Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), would require employers to give an extra hour of pay to workers summoned less than 24 hours in advance.
The bill would also guarantee a minimum of four hours’ pay if an employee is sent home early — a frequent occurrence at restaurants.
Source
Blackstone and JPMorgan CEOs still under pressure over Trump
Trump's business advisory councils have been dissolved. But protestors aren't done yet with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.
...
Trump's business advisory councils have been dissolved. But protestors aren't done yet with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.
Read the full article here.
Video: Mas de 30,000 empleados de Toys “R” Us piden su Indemnizacion
Video: Mas de 30,000 empleados de Toys “R” Us piden su Indemnizacion
Esta demanda se está llevando a cabo gracias a una campaña que cuenta con el apoyo del grupo activista Center for Popular Democracy. Más de 50,000 personas han firmado una petición reclamando a la...
Esta demanda se está llevando a cabo gracias a una campaña que cuenta con el apoyo del grupo activista Center for Popular Democracy. Más de 50,000 personas han firmado una petición reclamando a la compañía este derecho monetario.
Mira el video aquí.
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