Michigan labor rally: Pulte unfair, unjust

June Rostan, representing Voice@Work, AFL-CIO, led a rally called by the Detroit Metropolitan AFL-CIO at the Marriott hotel in Pontiac, Mich., on Tuesday, August 18. The event was a shareholders meeting to discuss a merger with Centex, which will make Pulte the largest residential construction company in the United States. At the same location last May, Pulte called the police and prevented three construction workers from the southwest part of our country from speaking about the unjust and unfair working conditions they endure as employees at Pulte Homes work sites. Unions represented at this rally were the Sheet Metal Workers. Teamsters, UAW, Operating Engineers, and UOPWA. Jobs With Justice and InterFaith Committee for Worker Justice joined them.

-- Jim Ryan, Detroit

Labor Up Front

For more photos/blog: http://laborupfront.blogspot.com/

Trumka’s Straight Talk on Race Helped Win Blue Collar Union Vote

Kudos from Daily Kos to AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka. Always good for labor to get recognition outside the labor movement.

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/07/kudos-to-afl-cio-secretary-treasurer-trumka/

McCain runnning for cover on financial crisis

A couple of good commentaries to note:

Harold Meyerson writes in the Washington Post about "McCain's Ploy":

Slipping in the polls? Concerned that Americans may be paying more attention to the declining economy -- and even supporting economic regulation again -- than to your own stellar leadership abilities?

What's a Republican presidential nominee to do?

If you're named John McCain, the answer became apparent yesterday afternoon -- make the solution to the economic crisis all about you. Suspend your campaign. Pull out of tomorrow's debate -- a trivial exercise merely allowing Americans to judge the two candidates side by side. Change the terms of the nation's economic discussion from the course we should take, and the defects of the laissez-faire model that got us here, to the indispensability of John McCain, leader of leaders.

In the Wall Street Journal piece titled "It's Judgment Day for McCain," Thomas Frank suggests that McCain has "a special advantage to bring" to any investigation of Wall Street practices:

many of the relevant witnesses are friends or colleagues of his. In fact, he can probably get to the bottom of the whole mess just by cross-examining the people riding on his campaign bus.

A number of progressive groups are organizing rallies today around the country, calling it a national day of action on the theme "Congress must fix the mess created by Wall Street. But the right way. NOT by a no-strings-attached $700 billion handout." Check here to see the organizations involved and find an event in your area.

And Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, has put up an action page where you can send a message to your member of Congress and congressional leaders and tell them "No blank checks for Wall Street."

McCain: Gimme shelter...how many?

Well, I'm glad this stuff is finally getting attention. NY Times Frank Rich was right...McCain is the candidate that nobody knows.

Aug. 22, 2008

Most of us regular folks know how many homes we own--none or one
(http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/Od1d1L41rPH6/). But Sen. John
McCain has so many places he can call home--from ranches to
beachfront condos--he can't remember how many homes he owns. He
had to assign a staffer to figure it out. Wow. It's not like
forgetting how many pairs of socks you own. But with 10 houses
and condos, maybe McCain owns more homes than some of us have
socks. Talk about elite and out of touch.