Category: Labor

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The Dougherty-Henon Verdict is a Miscarriage of Justice and Why it Matters

  By Labor, Philadelphia

John Dougherty and Bobby Henon were convicted of bribery and other charges today. Having read the original indictment and followed the trial closely, I continue to think that indictment and trial, as well as the conviction, was a terrible miscarriage of justice. Aside from the last couple of paragraphs, I wrote the following about six week ago before the trial started. I have seen no reason to change my argument or conclusion. …This trial of John Dougherty and Bobby Henon strikes me as an attempt to criminalize everyday politics. Did John Dougherty want Bobby Henon to be on City Council so that he would have a friend who would support Local 98’s causes. Yes. But that’s not illegal. Everyone who supports a candidate or makes a contribution to him or her wants that. Did John Dougherty need to have Bobby Henon on his payroll for Henon to support Local 98’s… Continue reading

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It’s Labor Day Weekend: Let’s Talk About Unrigging The Economy for Workers

  By Inequality, Labor, Politics, Public Policy

During the Labor Day holiday when we celebrate working men and women — and at a time when we are entering a critical election season — let’s stop and ask how we can give those working Americans what they most want and need: higher wages and better jobs in a growing economy. That is a question for which there are two starkly different answers. Since the dawn of the Reagan era, right-wingers have claimed that cutting taxes on corporations and the rich will spur economic growth and raise wages. That theory is embodied in the tax cuts Trump and Congressional Republicans enacted this year. The corporate tax rate was slashed from 35% to 21%. Income tax cuts were heavily weighted to the to the top 5%, who receive half of the tax reduction, and the top 1%, who receive over 25%. What has been the consequence for working people? Only 4.3% of… Continue reading

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On the Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME Decision

  By John Neurohr, Labor, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, Stephen Herzenberg

HARRISBURG — Keystone Research Center executive director Stephen Herzenberg and Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement regarding today’s Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court decision: “In a 5-4 decision that resulted directly from the [evasion of constitutional responsibility and] abuse of power that led to the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch, the United States Supreme Court today took another step to rig our economy and our politics against working families and to further diminish the collective rights of working people. By reversing the longstanding precedent set in the 1977 Abood case, the Janus decision makes the entire United States public sector a ‘right to work for less’ country with the stroke of a pen. The decision deprives unions of any financial support from non-members who nonetheless benefit from union representation and collective bargaining to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions. The decision violates a fundamental… Continue reading

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Vote no on the Senate version of HB 1828

  By Labor, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Sometimes there are no good choices. No one wants the city of Philadelphia to adopt Plan C, the plan to balance the budget by drastically cutting services. And there is a risk that if the State House votes down the Senate version of HB 1828 we will wind up with it. But that is far from certain. There is time for further negotiation between the House and the Senate. Labor has some influence over some Republican state senators. And now that organized labor has recognized how bad 1828 it could put its whole force behind a clean bill that allows Philadelphia to raise the sales tax and reduce pension spending. And there is a long way to go before we can rule out City Council passing other, possibly better, taxes that replace sales tax revenues if 1828 is never passed. What is certain, however, is that 1828 violates a principle… Continue reading

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The Election and the Future of Progressive Politics

  By Health Care, Labor, US

Soon after the clock ticks 8:00 in California we will see a solid, and perhaps extraordinary, victory for Democrats from top to bottom, from the Presidency to Senate to the House and maybe even down to the State House in Pennsylvania. Those of us who have worked long and hard and hoped for a revival of progressive politics in America will celebrate this victory tonight and for weeks to come. But while this election victory is critical, what we do with our that victory will most determine what kind of future there is for progressive politics and our country. Continue reading

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The labor dispute at the convention center

  By Labor, Philadelphia

The city woke up to some good news in the Inquirer—Governor Rendell is evidently going to try to broke a compromise on the Convention Center labor dispute. So Council is not likely to adopt Frank DiCicco’s proposal to open the expansion of the Convention Center to non-union contractors This is a tough issue for those of us who are both pro-labor and pro-minority. There is no question that many of the building trades have fewer minority and women members than they should, given the demographics of the city and region. And there is no question that racism is a main reason for these low numbers. And yet, while I don’t doubt the good intentions of Frank DiCicco and the other supporters of this proposal, opening work at the Convention Center to non-union contractors is not a good solution, for many reasons. Continue reading