November 2008 Archives

November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving, Turkeys!

Need something to be thankful for? Well, no matter how lousy the last week was for you, odds are you didn’t do anything as doofy as this: So chin up! And from all of us here at CtW Connect to...

November 24, 2008

Unemployment Benefits Extended for Struggling Workers

It didn’t get much media attention, but last week Congress passed an extension of unemployment benefits to help workers who have lost their jobs due to the current economic turmoil. The bill provides an additional seven weeks of unemployment insurance...

"It Is Time to Act"

In his most recent weekly address to the nation, President-Elect Barack Obama announced that he and his economic team are developing a recovery plan to create 2.5 million new jobs by January 2011. Here’s the video: And here’s the transcript:...

November 19, 2008

The New Progressive Consensus

Ever since it became clear that Barack Obama was going to win the Presidency, pundits have been frantically trying to spin the idea that no matter how people voted, America is a “center-right” country, more inclined to believe in conservative...

GA Senate Contest Goes to Extra Innings

Remember how I told you on October 29 that [Republican Senator Saxby] Chambliss — who has drawn fire for putting Big Sugar’s interests above those of his constituents — is facing a strong challenge from Democratic candidate Jim Martin. Starting...

November 14, 2008

Anna Burger Meets the Bloggers

CtW Chair Anna Burger was a guest today on the online talk show Meet the Bloggers, discussing the Employee Free Choice Act. Here’s the video:...

Dream a Little Dream

American Rights at Work has just launched a national TV ad campaign aimed at mobilizing the public to urge Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act — critical legislation that would make it easier for workers to join together...

November 13, 2008

It Must Be Nice

Above: Investment banker I bet a lot of folks wish they had jobs where they got multi-million dollar bonuses no matter how badly they had done that year: It’s no secret that investment bankers are well-compensated, mostly through year-end bonuses,...

November 10, 2008

Circuit City Files For Bankruptcy

The ongoing saga of Circuit City’s downward spiral continues! Faithful readers of CtW Connect will remember that I’ve been following CC ever since its incredibly boneheaded decision in March of last year to fire 3,400 of their best-performing workers...

November 7, 2008

Unemployment Rises for Tenth Straight Month, Now At Highest Level Since 1994

Straight from the horse’s mouth: Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 240,000 in October, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.1 to 6.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. October’s drop in payroll...

November 6, 2008

The American Dream and the 2008 Election

From left to right, CtW leaders Edgar Romney and Anna Burger join workers Keith McCorkle, Adam Riddell, Teresa Ransone, Denise Brown-Lipford, Samantha Miskevich, Samantha’s grandmother Patricia Toroyni, and Jennifer Pullom, all of whom volunteered their time and energy to...

November 5, 2008

Monument Avenue

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there. — L. P. Hartley If you’ve ever been to Richmond, Virginia, you’re familiar with Monument Avenue. It’s a street lined with statues that mark a tragic epoch in...

Obama Wins

From CNN.com: I’ll have more on this shortly, but for now consider this an open thread. How do you feel this morning?...

November 4, 2008

Getting Out the Vote in Charlotte

[ Another report from the field -- this one by Elana Levin of UNITE HERE, who's on the ground in Charlotte, North Carolina getting out the vote there. - Jason ] Never in a million years did I think I’d...

November 3, 2008

Sad News

Tragic news today — Barack Obama’s ailing grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, passed away late last night at her home in Hawaii. She was 87 years old. Senator Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, have issued a joint statement: It is with...

Making Change on the Ground in New Hampshire

[ This dispatch forwarded to me by Leslie Miller of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who’s on the ground getting out the vote in New Hampshire — Jason ] Never before have so many union workers engaged in a presidential...

Make It Count -- Protect Your Vote

With Election Day only one day away, the Obama campaign has released a great video highlighting some of the standard tactics Republicans have used in the past to try and deny people their right to vote, and informing you how...