Leadership at Fed’s regional banks is getting more diverse. But there’s still work to do, report argues.
Leadership at Fed’s regional banks is getting more diverse. But there’s still work to do, report argues.
“But diversity within the Federal Reserve’s regional banks hardly measures up, according to a new report compiled by Fed Up, a campaign of the Center for Popular Democracy, a left-leaning advocacy...
“But diversity within the Federal Reserve’s regional banks hardly measures up, according to a new report compiled by Fed Up, a campaign of the Center for Popular Democracy, a left-leaning advocacy group. The report highlights the lag in gender, racial and occupational diversity among the presidents and boards of directors of the regional reserve banks. Researchers say this serves to further isolate already marginalized groups such as women and communities of color from monetary policy.”
Read the full article here.
Teachers Union Questions Charter School Relationships With For-Profit Company
Teachers Union Questions Charter School Relationships With For-Profit Company
Denver’s teachers union is demanding Denver Public Schools halt the expansion of charter schools until district leaders can ensure taxpayer money is not going to for-profit corporations.
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Denver’s teachers union is demanding Denver Public Schools halt the expansion of charter schools until district leaders can ensure taxpayer money is not going to for-profit corporations.
The request comes on the heels of a study by an advocacy organization, the Center for Popular Democracy, based in New York. It alleges Denver’s largest charter school network – the Denver School of Science and Technology – paid between $20 million and $50 million to a for-profit company for employee and personnel services for DSST schools. During this time the company was owned by two of DSST’s founding directors.
The Center for Popular Democracy group says that relationship raises concerns about conflicts of interest.
DSST and Denver Public Schools deny any wrongdoing.
The district says that neither the district, DSST nor the company benefited financially and in fact there was a net loss to the company, which the district forgave when the company dissolved.
Money for independently run public charter schools is under great scrutiny now because of pending state legislation to shift more money to charter schools.
By Jenny Brundin
Source
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.
Source
In NYC Schools, Racial Disparity in Suspension Length
10.15.2018
NEW YORK, NY -- A...
10.15.2018
NEW YORK, NY -- A report released last week by the Independent Budget Office (IBO) in New York City found a shocking racial disparity in the duration of school suspension length for the same offense.
In the study, the IBO compared the average length of all suspensions for the 10 most frequent infractions—totaling about 25,000 in 2016-2017—for students in the four largest ethnic groups in grades 6-12.
Top findings include:
Black students received relatively longer suspensions on average for eight of the top 10 infractions, with the exception of insubordination and possession of drugs.
The three infractions in which black students were suspended for roughly twice the number of days as students in one of the other ethnic groups were: bullying, reckless behavior, and altercation.
"This report is an insult to the thousands of Black and Latinx young people of color in my city,” said Andrea Colon, a participant in the Urban Youth Collaborative. “We continue to engage with legislators and policy makers around the solutions that we know work, but we don't feel like anyone is listening to us. It's time for people in power to pay attention to the traumatic experiences we go through with suspensions and the racism connected to this data."
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza can eliminate the deep and persistent racial disparities across discipline and policing outcomes by mandating guidance interventions before the use of suspensions -- which significantly limits the length of long-term suspensions from 180 days to 20 days -- and ending arrests, summons, and juvenile reports for violations and misdemeanors.
The full report can be found here.
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Students from the Urban Youth Collective are available for comment. Please reach out to Lia Weintraub at lweintraub@populardemocracy.org for the connection.
Poll Says Americans Want Fed To Focus On Jobs, Hold Off On Rate Increases
NEW YORK--As the Federal Reserve gets ready to debate its interest rate policy stance next week, a poll released Thursday finds a strong majority of the American voters surveyed...
NEW YORK--As the Federal Reserve gets ready to debate its interest rate policy stance next week, a poll released Thursday finds a strong majority of the American voters surveyed want central bankers to refrain from boosting short- term interest rates--and to instead concentrate on using monetary policy to further boost the job market.
The poll also found that respondents have inflation concerns, but even so, they still want the Fed to do what it can to create more jobs and spur the sort of wage gains that have eluded much of the nation. The poll of 716 registered voters also found respondents wanting greater public input into the central bank's decision making.
The survey was conducted in early September by Public Policy Polling under the direction of the left-leading Center for Popular Democracy. The group has been actively arguing against any move to raise short-term interest rates from current levels. Over recent months, its activists have been meeting with regional Fed bank president to press their case. The group also brought their case this year's high-profile central bank research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
In the survey, 62% of respondents said high unemployment remains a "major problem," and 60% said low wages and weak incomes were also significant concerns. Half said the same thing about inflation. Just over half of respondents said the Fed should use its policy tools to prioritize job creation and stronger wage gains--versus 38% who want the central bank to direct its main focus to controlling inflation.
"There is no threat of inflation," said Connie Razza, Director of Strategic Research with the CDP. The poll shows Americans believe "the U.S. economy is not healthy enough to raise rates right now," she said in a conference call with reporters discussing the survey.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe the economy could benefit from maintaining low rates, and a similar amount want to see the current ultralow rates maintained.
The Fed is set to meet Wednesday and Thursday next week to decide what to do with its near-zero short-term interest rate target. Until only recently, there were fairly broad-based expectations that officials would raise rates at the meeting, ending an unprecedented era of ultralow rates that have prevailed since the end of 2008.
But a sharp rise in global uncertainty spurred by questions about growth in China, as well as the waves of market volatility this situation has unleashed, has undone any sense of certainty about what the Fed will do next week.
Steady if unspectacular growth coupled with a solid drop in the unemployment rate underpin the case to raise rates. Arguing against is persistently weak inflation and weak wage growth, with the Fed failing to achieve its price target for over three years. The Fed is legally charged with promoting job growth and stable inflation, and for many there is a conflict right now between the employment and inflation environments. That makes interest-rate decisions difficult for central bankers.
The poll also found dissatisfaction with the Fed's democratic accountability. Some 71% of respondents said the public doesn't have enough input into central-bank decision making. A majority of respondents believe the financial sector is overrepresented on regional Fed boards of directors.
The poll is unusual in that the public's attitude about the central bank is rarely measured. As important as the Fed is to the economy's performance, its mission and tools are often little understood by the broader public. For most of the Fed's history, its officials were happy operating in the shadows. But over recent years the Fed has become much more open about its aims and activities. Still, a Pew Research from last year found that only a quarter of Americans could even name Janet Yellen as chairwoman of the Fed.
"The focus on the Fed is extraordinary," Josh Bivens, director of Research and Policy at Economic Policy Institute, said on the conference call. The Fed "is the only engine we have for this recovery, and that's why it's getting all the attention," he said.
Source: Nasdaq
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