Campaign News

02/08/16 


Today, the Fed Up campaign released a report showing that the January 1 appointments to the 12 Federal Reserve boards across the country have exacerbated the system’s skewed leadership structure and resulted in economic policy choices that privilege the needs of the wealthy over the welfare of low-income communities of color. The report, “To Represent the Public”: The Federal Reserve’s Continued Failure to Represent the American People, is being released as Chair Janet Yellen begins two days of testimony before Congress and three weeks before the expiration of the five-year terms of all 12 regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents, who are all expected to be reappointed by the regional boards through a completely opaque process.

Among the 19 board members appointed at the beginning of 2016, 16 are white, three are black, and none are Latino or Asian. Twelve come from either banks or corporations, while three are from academia, one represents a labor union, and the remaining three come from the non-profit world. This year’s new appointees mirror society in terms of gender with 10 women and nine men, although the boards remain dominated by men.

The report is being released as approximately 80 community leaders and organizers from around the country converge on Washington DC today and tomorrow for Yellen’s “Humphrey-Hawkins” hearings in front of the House Financial Services and Senate Banking committees. For over a year, the Fed Up campaign have been warning the Fed not to intentionally slow down the economy while it remains fragile, with 0.7 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 and a slack labor market with low wage growth. Nevertheless, Fed officials raised rates in December, sending international markets into a tailspin on fears of a global slowdown and even a new recession.“To Represent the Public” shows that its decision to slow down the economy – which reduces aggregate demand, slows job creation, undercuts workers’ bargaining power, and leads to lower wages – is the result of a leadership dominated by bank executives who profit from higher interest rates and corporate executives who profit from lower labor costs.

The report reveals that, despite the legal requirement that Federal Reserve Bank directors “represent the public” with “due consideration” to a wide array of constituencies across the economy, directorships at Fed Banks are occupied disproportionately by white men, almost entirely from the corporate and financial sectors. 83 percent of Federal Reserve board members are white and nearly 75 percent are men. By comparison, 63 percent of the country is white and 49 percent is male. Banking and commercial sectors dominate the board seats, with representatives from community and labor organizations representing less than five percent of all seats.

On top of the lack of diversity, the report casts a spotlight on the revolving door between the banking industry and the Federal Reserve. The majority of Federal Reserve Bank presidents spend their entire careers either in the federal government or in the banking sector before taking a job at the Fed. One fourth of current Fed presidents have strong ties to Goldman Sachs.

The report makes a set of recommendations, calling on the Fed to ensure that community, labor, academic, and alternative banking voices have a strong presence within the system’s governance.

Shawn Sebastian, the Fed Up campaign’s Field Director, released the following statement:

“When a policy-making body that looks like this evaluates whether lower unemployment and higher wages would be a good thing for America, whose perspectives are they taking into consideration? When no regional president is African-American, how do they weigh the importance of Black unemployment?

“When the vast majority who represent banking and financial interests debate with the few labor representatives over whether we have a strong labor market, who wins? The answers are obvious.

“The Federal Reserve intentionally slowed down the economy in December, ignoring the voices of working people around the country. The Fed needs to prioritize strong job and wage growth for everybody. But its leadership continues to represent America’s one percent and to advance policies that help the wealthiest, rather than the rest of us. That needs to change.”

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www.whatrecovery.com

Fed Up is a coalition of community organizations and labor unions across the country calling on the Federal Reserve to reform its governance and adopt policies that build a strong economy for the American public. The Fed can keep interest rates low, give the economy a fair chance to recover, and prioritize genuine full employment and rising wages.

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www.populardemocracy.org

The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

Press Contact:

Anita Jain, ajain@populardemocracy.org, 347-636-9761


Sofie Tholl, stholl@populardemocracy.org, 646-509-5558

When Mother's Day became a national holiday in the U.S. more than a century ago, women were a relative rarity in the workforce. Today's mom, by contrast, is largely a working mom. 

In half of American households, women are either the primary breadwinner or contribute more than 40 percent of the income. For most families, the added income from women going to work is the only thing that's kept family income steady, as individual worker wages have stagnated for the better part of four decades.

Read full article here.

Progressive groups focus on unemployment. The "Fed Up" campaign has advocated keeping monetary policy stimulus in place longer to drive unemployment lower. Fed officials, including John Williams, have favored raising the federal funds rate in small steps to avoid stimulating the economy too much and generating a large burst of inflation that could prove difficult to control.

Read the full article here.

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

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