Trabajadores demandan freno a la ‘epidemia’ de robo de salarios en NYC
Nueva York— Freno a la epidemia de robo de salarios fue la consigna que gritaron sin cesar unas 30 empleadas...
Nueva York— Freno a la epidemia de robo de salarios fue la consigna que gritaron sin cesar unas 30 empleadas domésticas y jornaleros frente a la Corte de Brooklyn. La acción, liderada por el Proyecto de Justicia Laboral (WJP), sirvió para exponer a un contratista inescrupuloso como parte de “una maquinaria que exprime a las familias trabajadoras”.
Los defensores denunciaron que la creación de’ empresas fantasma’ es una estrategia que los empleadores para esquivar a las autoridades y seguir en el negocio pese a tener casos abiertos en las cortes de la ciudad.
Samuel Just, propietario de Just Cleaning, fue arrestado el verano pasado por la Fiscalía de Brooklyn luego de que el WJP documentara varios casos de robo de salario. Pese a la presión de las autoridades y de los grupos defensores de los jornaleros, el empresario se niega a pagar a las víctimas, la mayoría mujeres latinas.
“El robo de salario es un crimen. No hay otra manera de calificarlo”, sentenció Ligia Guallpa, directora ejecutiva del WJP.
Otras organizaciones se unieron a la protesta para denunciar que el robo de salario afecta radicalmente a las comunidades inmigrantes. Gonzalo Mercado, director ejecutivo de Staten Island Community Job Center, explicó que los contratistas están creando empresas fantasmas para evadir a las autoridades y las pesquisas de los activistas.
“Hemos visto a empleadores circulando por las paradas de jornaleros con camionetas sin logotipos. Su estrategia es evitar ser identificados”, sentenció. “Muchos trabajadores no saben quién los contrata, lo que hace más difícil la recuperación de los salarios”.
El mexicano Oscar Lezama (36) contó que una compañía de Staten Island, que se dedica a la instalación de cocinas, se negó a pagarle unos mil dólares por horas extra.
“No sabía para quién trabajaba. Nunca vi nombres o logotipos que identificaran a la compañía”, comentó.
La organización Staten Island Community Job Center ayudó a Lezama a recuperar su salario mediante negociaciones directas con el propietario, pero Mercado dijo que identificar a la compañía implicó una investigación exhaustiva.
“Las organizaciones, de alguna manera, estamos tomando el rol del Departamento de Trabajo para recuperar los salarios”, dijo Mercado. “Muchos contratistas prefieren la negociación directa y así evitar comparecer en una corte, lo que reduce el tiempo de recuperación de salario, algo que beneficia al trabajador”.
Los defensores están pidiendo mano dura para los contratistas que reinciden en el robo de salario. Parte de sus esfuerzos implica que la Ciudad revoque o niegue la renovación de las licencias.
“Los contratistas recurren a subcontratistas para contratar jornaleros y luego no pagarles”, dijo Guallpa. “En las cortes se defienden argumentando que nunca contrataron al trabajador”.
De acuerdo con la activista, Samuel Just estaría recurriendo a estas estrategias para evadir su responsabilidad. El empresario presuntamente recurre a subcontratistas y empresas fantasma para continuar en el negocio y esquivar a los fiscales, algo que WJP está documentando.
La protesta frente a la Corte de Brooklyn fue la quinta acción colectiva convocada por WJP para exponer al propietario de Just Cleaning, pero también para crear conciencia acerca de que el robo de salario es un problema, que se agudizó en los últimos años, según defensores.
“La falta de denuncia, el miedo de los trabajadores indocumentados y las leyes débiles están nutriendo el abuso de los empleadores”, se lamentó Omar Henríquez, organizador de la Red Nacional de Trabajadores por Día (NDLON). “El robo de salario implica la evasión de impuestos. Es perjudicial para nuestros gobiernos y comunidades”.
El Servicio de Impuestos Internos (IRS) estima que los empleadores clasifican erróneamente a millones de empleados cada año en el país, evitando en promedio cerca de $4.000 en impuestos federales por cada trabajador.
Las víctimas de Just declinaron hacer comentarios por recomendación de sus abogados, pero estuvieron en la protesta demandando justicia. Varias llamadas al empleador no fueron atendidas al cierre de esta edición.
Un estimado de 2.1 millones de neoyorquinos son víctimas de robo de salario al año, lo que representa una pérdida de $3.2 mil millones en pagos y beneficios, según el reporte “By a Thousand Cuts: The Complex Face of Wage Theft in New York” del Center for Popular Democracy Action (CPDA).
Según la Fiscalía de Brooklyn, Just recogía a los trabajadores en una van en la esquina de las avenidas Marcy y Division -en el barrio de Williamsburg-, y les ofrecía entre $10 y $15 la hora. El contratista hizo trabajar a los jornaleros hasta 27 horas seguidas durante la celebración de Pesaj o Pascua Judía, que implica una intensa limpieza de los hogares.
Al menos 11 trabajadores -la mayoría mujeres- habrían sido víctimas de Just, pero sólo cinco se atrevieron a denunciarlo, según los activistas.
“El castigo de empleadores como Just motivará la denuncia y enviará un mensaje claro a otros contratistas que violan las leyes. Sólo así frenaremos la epidemia de robo de salario en Nueva York”, dijo Guallpa.
Source: El Diario
East Orange Officials Applaud Changes to Mortgage Sale Program Announced by HUD
East Orange Officials Applaud Changes to Mortgage Sale Program Announced by HUD
EAST ORANGE, NJ - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced significant improvements to...
EAST ORANGE, NJ - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced significant improvements to their delinquent mortgage sales program.
The changes include:
· Making principal reduction the first strategy in modification processes
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· Increased non-profit participation — with a goal of tripling the number
· Far greater provisions for transparency in the sale process
· A commitment to work with local governments and non-profits on targeted sales
These reforms come on the heels of an aggressive community pressure campaign, led by local elected officials affiliated with Local Progress, a national network of progressive elected leaders, and community groups affiliated with the Center for Popular Democracy.
The East Orange City Council passed a resolution sponsored by First Ward Councilman Christopher James in April 2016 calling on HUD to make reforms along these lines. In September of 2015, Councilman James traveled to Washington, D.C. to join others in meeting with top officials at HUD about this issue.
“This is one giant step in the right direction toward helping residents get back on their feet and rebuilding our communities,” said James. “Mutual understanding of the process and greater transparency will allow us to assist our residents in avoiding foreclosure.” As a city, East Orange has taken aggressive steps to reduce the lingering impact of the foreclosure crisis in its neighborhoods.
“My administration, with the support of the City Council, has taken progressive action to address the foreclosure crisis and stabilize our neighborhoods. In November 2014, we established a Division of Vacant and Abandoned Properties solely dedicated to identifying, registering and collecting fees and fines from agencies, such as banks and other creditors, who violate our city code,” said Mayor Lester E. Taylor III. “With these new reforms, we continue to take advantage of every opportunity – including the enforcement of new state laws – that will help us to revitalize our city, boost property values and restore community pride.”
Last summer, Local Progress members led a successful effort to get a resolution passed at the June meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, calling on HUD to prioritize selling these troubled mortgages to mission-driven purchasers, not Wall Street speculators.
With public events, reports and lobbying, these leaders put HUD, and specifically its head Secretary Julián Castro, in the spotlight for running a program that has been benefitting Wall Street at the expense of communities. HUD’s “Distressed Asset Sales Program” (DASP) has been conducting bulk auctions of delinquent mortgages to the highest bidder, which has meant 98% of these troubled mortgages have been sold to Wall Street speculators. Local elected leaders and stakeholders now plan to make sure that HUD sells delinquent mortgage pools to mission-driven purchasers.
The persistence of local elected officials and community groups has paid off, and the major changes announced last week are proof of their hard work. This campaign proved particularly timely as prominent Wall Street speculator Blackstone has recently become the largest single family landlord in the country. With more homes in the hands of non-profits instead of Wall Street speculators, communities will gain further control over their neighborhoods and be less at the mercy of Wall Street. Leaders from the Center for Popular Democracy and Local Progress plan to continue to apply direct pressure on HUD on this issue, and continue the fight for housing justice and community control to strengthen and protect neighborhoods across the country.
By CONNIE JACKSON
Source
New York Fed Names John Williams President, Bucking Calls for Diversity
New York Fed Names John Williams President, Bucking Calls for Diversity
Progressive groups seized on Mr. Dudley’s retirement as a rare opportunity to influence an economic policy appointment...
Progressive groups seized on Mr. Dudley’s retirement as a rare opportunity to influence an economic policy appointment that is outside Mr. Trump’s control. Protesters marched on the bank’s Lower Manhattan headquarters last month to demand a president who would represent working people. In a statement Tuesday, the Fed Up campaign, a progressive group, criticized the New York Fed’s board for “ignoring the demands of the public and choosing yet another white man whose record on Wall Street regulation and full employment raises serious questions.” The group said the search process “calls into question whether the Federal Reserve can be trusted to act in the public interest.
Read the full article here.
Rigorous Review of Nashville Charter Schools Needed
The Tennessean - April 14, 2015, by Stephen Henry & Erick Hutch - Teachers are joining parents and local community...
The Tennessean - April 14, 2015, by Stephen Henry & Erick Hutch - Teachers are joining parents and local community groups to ask the Metro Nashville Public School Board to adopt tougher accountability and transparency standards to protect students and taxpayers. Here's why.
We should all be working together to find a coordinated approach that serves all children.
Studies confirm that the proliferation of new charters is forcing existing under-funded public schools to compete for the same taxpayer dollars without proper checks and balances. There is also a growing concern among teachers and parents that we are not doing enough to ensure equal access to ALL of Nashville's public schools.
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University recommends national standards for schools to protect students and the public. A mandate on transparency and equitable student policies ensures all students have fair access to the schools they deserve. The Institute also recommends all approved charter schools be fully funded by the state. Under our current system, Nashville taxpayers absorb the costs of state-approved charters already rejected locally.
Right now, charters cost our public school system $9,000 per student, according to a recent performance audit commissioned by the Metropolitan Government. We should require a rigorous financial review of charter expansion on our public school system – a prudent step before approving more charters.
A national study by the Center for Popular Democracy found charter school operators across the country were engaged in rampant abuses because they lacked appropriate oversight and transparency guidelines. Last month, the CPD released findings for an 11-point program for reform.
A local audit released in February, found that the unchecked expansion of new charter schools is taking a toll on existing schools. Specifically, the audit noted that when new charter schools open and compete for the same system resources, fixed costs at existing schools — such as maintenance, technology and health services —are often neglected as they cannot be reduced.
Additionally, the audit observed that existing schools cannot easily adjust staffing patterns as a result of new charters. "For these costs to be reduced significantly," the audit observed, "the school would need to close altogether." The audit also confirmed the results of a fall 2014 report that found "new charter schools will, with nearly 100 percent certainty, have a negative fiscal impact on MNPS."
As the search for the next director of MNPS begins, we need a leader who will commit the resources and support necessary for our existing schools to be successful. A single, 600-seat charter school requires $5.4 million annually from our public schools. At a time when our schools are universally considered to be under funded, now is the time to invest resources in public education instead of systematically starving it.
In 2010, the entire state of Tennessee had only 20 charter schools. In Nashville alone in the 2015-16 school year, 27 charter schools will operate at an annual cost of $75 million. Another 18 proposed charters are seeking to divert as much as $104 million annually. In fact, even if the school board approved no new charter schools, more than 5,000 charter seats will come into existence between now and the 2019-20 school year under previous charter approvals. That's the equivalent of adding five new MNPS middle schools.
It's time to protect students and taxpayers with common-sense standards that serve all of us.
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L Brands, owner of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, ending on-call scheduling
Dive Brief: L Brands Inc. is the latest retail company to end “on-call scheduling” in the face of a ...
L Brands Inc. is the latest retail company to end “on-call scheduling” in the face of a warning letter from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that the practice likely violates state law.
The company said its Bath & Body Works stores and Victoria’s Secret stores are phasing out the practice nationwide.
Rise Up Georgia, a partner of the Fair Workweek Initiative at the Center for Popular Democracy, has been organizing L Brands workers and asking the company to end the practice, especially at Bath & Body Works stores, and says the latest move doesn’t go far enough.
Dive Insight:As the practice of on-call scheduling has drawn more scrutiny, lawmakers and regulators are calling for an end to the practice and taking steps, as Schneiderman's office has, to rein it in. Several jurisdictions, including a few states, already have laws on the books that could be used to temper or end the practice.
On-call scheduling uses algorithms to determine when workers are most needed or not, and many retailers have taken to sending workers home or having them at the ready without pay. That wreaks havoc on workers’ lives, hampering their ability to attend school, care for families, or hold down other jobs.
An improving job market is also helping make the practice less tenable as workers are more able to find jobs that are less disruptive to them.
Retailers should be prepared to see more such concerns, warnings, and even legislation as just-in time scheduling gets more scrutiny, Gail Gottehrer, a labor & employment litigator at Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider in New York who works on behalf of employers, told Retail Dive. The practice was a major concern when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last year unanimously passed its Worker Bill of Rights law.
But some worker advocates say that L Brands move doesn’t go far enough.
"L Brand employees still have to put their lives on hold," Erin Hurley, an organizer for Rise Up Georgia and a former Bath & Body Works employee, said in a statement. "The company might have ended one type of on-call shifts, but it is still allowing for harmful shift practices: since July, they have been relying on shift extensions at Victoria’s Secret, which are on-call shifts by another name. While we celebrate the step forward, we call on L Brands to take a definitive step toward a fair workweek by giving workers shifts with definite start and end times, and enough hours to support their families.”
Schneiderman, meanwhile, praised the move while also making it clear that his office will continue to monitor the practice.
Recommended ReadingWall Street Journal: Bath & Body Works to End On-Call Scheduling
Source: RetailDive
Clinton Wants Bankers Off Regional Fed Boards
Clinton Wants Bankers Off Regional Fed Boards
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joined the fray Thursday in the debate over how the nation’s central...
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joined the fray Thursday in the debate over how the nation’s central bank operates, saying banking industry insiders need to be removed from the Federal Reserve System.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign said, if elected, she would appoint officials who will carry out “unwavering oversight” of the financial sector and “defend” both sides of the central bank’s inflation and employment mandates. The campaign also said “commonsense reforms—like getting bankers off the boards of regional Federal Reserve banks—are long overdue.”
Mrs. Clinton’s comments on central bank changes appeared to be her first on the topic in a campaign season where the Fed has intermittently been an issue, albeit mostly on the Republican side. Mrs. Clinton’s views emerged on a day in which dozens of Democratic congressional members, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, criticized the central bank for a leadership largely made up of white males with business and finance backgrounds.
While the Fed is led by its first-ever woman chief, all of its governors are white and three of the five are men. Of the 12 regional bank presidents, none are black and 10 are men. The last African-American to serve in a key leadership role left in 2006.
The letter to Ms. Yellen, referencing a recent study by the left-leaning Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up Coalition, also flagged a lack of diversity among the boards of directors that oversee the regional Fed banks. The letter said a Fed that doesn’t look like the nation it works for will struggle to make policy that benefits an increasingly diverse nation. Regional Fed board members are drawn from the private sector to watch over institutions that are quasi-private. By law, the boards are supposed to represent their broader communities with three classes of directors reserved for differing interests, including the financial sector, in a process set out by a complicated set of rules. These boards oversee regional Fed bank operations, provide local economic insights and help select new bank presidents.
But the presence of bankers on the boards, representing firms regulated by the Fed, has been a sore spot for Fed critics. Over the years, the New York Fed faced notable controversies on this front.
Recent legal changes have removed financial-market participants from the process of selecting new bank presidents. Also, the Fed’s regulatory operations are managed in Washington even as they operate out of regional banks, and are insulated from the influence of the regional boards. Most regional Fed boards are spoken of in glowing terms by their respective bank presidents.
Financial-market professionals are well represented among Fed leaders. Most top central bankers are either economists by training or former bankers. The leaders of the New York, Minneapolis, Dallas and Philadelphia Fed banks all have worked in some capacity for investment bank Goldman Sachs. Current Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer was vice chairman of Citigroup from 2002 to 2005.
Mrs. Clinton’s desire to remove financial-sector leaders from the regional Fed boards would mark a historic change for a central bank that was founded on the mission of promoting financial stability, and whose monetary policy actions work through private financial-market channels to affect the performance of the broader economy.
In response to the congressional letter, the Fed said in a statement that when it comes to the members of the regional boards, “by law, we consider the interests of agriculture, commerce, industry, services, labor, and consumers. We also are aiming to increase ethnic and gender diversity.“ It also said there has been a rise in both racial and gender diversity on the regional Fed boards, with 46% of all directors now meeting the label of “diverse.”
A recent overhaul proposal by former top Fed staffer Andrew Levin, now a professor at Dartmouth College, called for the regional Fed banks to be made fully public, ending their private ownership structure operating within the Fed board, which is explicitly part of the government. Mr. Levin also called for directors representing firms regulated by the central bank to be removed.
By MICHAEL S. DERBY
Source
Florence District One Candidate Questionnaire: Alexis D. Pipkins, Sr.
Florence District One Candidate Questionnaire: Alexis D. Pipkins, Sr.
The Morning News recently sent out a questionnaire to the candidates running for the Florence School District One Board...
The Morning News recently sent out a questionnaire to the candidates running for the Florence School District One Board of Trustees. Here are the answers from Alexis D. Pipkins, Sr. who is running for another term representing District 4; he faces one challenger.
1. What do you feel you have contributed during your current tenure on the board?
My background as a lifelong resident of the Florence Community, and working closely within the region has given me a clear sense of both the educational and economic issues and needs that we face. Over the past 15 years, as a member of the Florence School District 1 Board of Trustees, I have ensured that I have been knowledgeable of the issues, needs, and concerns of my constituents, and I have represented and I have been a voice even during turbulent of challenges. Further, I understand that leadership must be politically astute to represent the views and concerns of those you represent even though others may not agree, or do not care, and only want to advance their own agenda that is only best for “their community” and not all communities. I have attained the Level 6 on the SCSBA, which is the highest level for a school board member, and presently I serve as the President of the SC Caucus of Black School Board Members which provides dialogue on educational issues and concerns to address the full growth and development of Black and other minority children, and I am also affiliated with the National Local Progress Movement which focuses on progressive thought and insight for local officials
2. What are the issues that you think need to be addressed?
Student achievement, and recognizing the individuality and creativity of each student’s needs
Recognizing that the public schools are becoming more diverse
Equity in funding for all schools
Special Education
Technology infusion and integration for all students
Early Childhood
Career Clusters and Pathways- which is more opportunities for expansion of vocational and career center programs
Funding throughout the district
Special Education and meeting the diverse needs of students, to include the increase diagnosis of Autism
Impact of poverty, mental health, and other risk factors have on today’s learners
Lack of teachers
New and innovative approaches to teacher development and recruitment in order to develop and retain a diverse, qualified, and effective 21st Century pool of educators and staff
3. How have you sought to make changes in those areas?
By asking for items to be placed on the agenda, and engaging staff and others throughout the state and country on best practices and promising practices to ensure that we are utilizing the best program for all of our children. Also, researching the issues and knowing the national agenda. I have always committed myself to being engaged and welcoming to constituents and having a listening ear to see what the children are saying and feeling. As an educator and advocate for children and families, I always empathize and evaluate how I would feel when making decisions and question if policies or procedures that are guiding discussion or the direction of the Board are relevant today. I have demonstrated that my approach to knowing what the educational needs and issues are not based on perception or a one way train rail.
4. What specific program are you most proud of in FSD1 and why?
Small Learning Communities at our schools to decrease class sizes
Implementation of the Parents As Teachers Program to address 0-3, to provide parents with skills and supports to ensure that their children are ready to enter school
Montessori which provides learners the opportunity to be creative
Career and Technology which provides students the opportunity to enter the work place upon graduation
The work that was done by the previous Discipline Code Committees which has ensured the district recognized inequalities and unfair discipline practices and the underutilization and non-utilization of support services for students with complex needs and behaviors. This dialogue that I led was the foundation for the present Code of Conduct which will have to be assessed over the next few years to evaluate its effectiveness and impact on student learning and behavior.
Early College which provides students the opportunity to receive college credit and even an Associate Degree when they graduate from high school
Present dialogue on a Middle School Concept that has been talked about for years
5. How do you handle inquiries and complaints from the community?
I refer families to the Superintendent’s Office or to the appropriate office for support. I also follow-up with families and community that approach me to ensure that their complaints and inquires have been addressed. I also request items be placed on the agenda for discussion and action.
6. What do you think the role of the board is, in the district and in the community?
The board is responsible for establishing the Vision and Mission for the local school district, and ensuring that the Superintendent has the resources to implement the vision by having good policies and procedures, and good stewards of the district’s Operational Funds and Capital or Building Funds. This role must be student centered and family centered by recognizing the diverse needs of students within our community. Not all students learn in the same manner, thus the board must be aware of such and hold the administration accountable for creating programs and services which will help students achieve and be successful. It is the job of the board to be knowledgeable, and current on educational issues and trends, and not just be a “rubber stamping board” but ask questions, communicate with the public- and not just those who share your personal beliefs and positions.
7. What are your past/other areas of service? (church, civic organizations, etc.)
Professional:
I am an advocate, teacher, educator, trainer, and servant-leader. Presently, I am employed as the Executive Director of Lee County First Steps, and the Lee County Adult Education Family Literacy Coordinator.
Educational attainments include:
1990 graduate of the historic Wilson High School
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and a concentration in Secondary Education Graduate from Winthrop University
Master of Arts Degree in Management from Webster University
Education Specialist Degree Specialization in Leadership in Educational Administration from Capella University
Completion of the Non Profit Leadership Institute from Francis Marion University
Completion of the Francis Marion Rural Leadership Institute
Church:
My faith walk began at my home church, Snow Hill Baptist Church where I was active during my youth, and I was licensed to preach at Maxwell Baptist Church where I was Sunday School Teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, Minister of Christian Education and Membership Services, Boys Scout Troop Master. Presently I am a member and ordained Elder of the Gospel (2010) and serve as an Associate Minister and have served as a Youth Advisor at the Greater Gethsemane Apostolic Church in Florence, South Carolina.
Past and Present Civic:
Gate City Masonic Lodge 276
Florence 1 Local Education Association (SCEA) Treasurer, President
Weed and Seed Steering Committee
Queenie’s Helping Hands Ministry
Angel Tree Prison Ministry
The School Foundation Board
Pee Dee International Festival Planning Committee
PTA (North Vista Elementary, Williams Middle School)
PTSA (Wilson High School)
By Melissa Rollins
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Wall Street, Main Street, and Martin Luther King Boulevard: Why African Americans Must Not Be Left Out of the Federal Reserve’s Full Employment Mandate
Executive Summary The story of the economic recovery varies dramatically depending on where it is being told. On...
The story of the economic recovery varies dramatically depending on where it is being told. On Wall Street, big banks look stronger, bigger, and healthier than ever. Large companies are making record profits. But, the labor market remains weak. Although the economy has added more jobs in recent months, job growth on Main Street is not nearly as robust as during previous recoveries.[i] Unemployment rates in nearly every state remain above pre-recession levels. Wages have been stagnant or falling for most workers and the quality of jobs has decreased significantly. Main Street still has no clear route to prosperity.
Dowload the report now.
Many communities are disproportionately struggling in this economy. The Latino unemployment rate is more than 2 percent higher than the rate for whites, and Latino wages and wealth are considerably lower than whites. Women continue to earn substantially less than men. This paper focuses on the economic disparities facing the African-American community in particular because the economic crisis is most acute there: African-American unemployment rates continue to exceed the national unemployment rates at the height of the recession, Black workers’ wages have dropped $0.44 over the past 15 years, though Latino and white wages have risen by $0.48 and $0.45, respectively; unemployment rates among African Americans are higher than those of other racial or ethnic groups; and, though Latino and white wealth has stabilized since the Great Recession, Black wealth continues to shrink. So, while Main Street may be stabilizing (albeit at a lower standard), the recovery has yet to reach Martin Luther King Boulevard. Creating a strong American economy must include prioritizing a genuine recovery for the African American community.
This joint report of the Center for Popular Democracy and the Economic Policy Institute examines the current state of the American economy and labor market, with particular attention to racial inequality and its contours before, during, and in aftermath of the Great Recession. It describes the role that federal monetary policy has played in exacerbating economic disparities over recent decades -- the shrinking national income share for working America and the exploding income and wealth gaps between the top 1 percent and the rest of us. The paper further explores the consequences of the major policy decision currently facing the Federal Reserve (or the Fed): whether to prioritize genuine full employment or to avoid inflation at the cost of robust employment and wage gains. Only by pursuing genuine full employment will the Fed ensure that the recovery reaches Main Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard – and communities of working people throughout the country. As the Fed makes crucial monetary policy decisions in the months and years to come, it must ensure that all communities can share in the prosperity of a functional economy.
The report also studies the decision-making processes and bodies of the Federal Reserve. Although the Board members that govern the regional Federal Reserve banks are legally required to represent the broad interests of the public, they are, in fact, predominantly representatives of the financial sector or large corporations. Without governance that represents the full diversity of the public, Fed decisions risk remaining uninformed by the full economic reality they create, as experienced in communities throughout the country. The Federal Reserve’s focus over the past 35 years has been on price stability, or tamping down inflation. While this focus is good for Wall Street, it has resulted in wage stagnation for most workers on Main Street. The cost of this focus has been slow recoveries in labor markets after each downturn. America needs the Federal Reserve to concentrate on labor market stability and insure that wages are rising with productivity, so that workers reap the benefits from their efficiencies and hard work; that means prioritizing a wage growth target, rather than inflation. A Federal Reserve dominated by banks and major corporations will produce an economy that works for them, at the risk of leaving tens of millions of working families – particularly Black working families – with little hope of a better life.
The report recommends that the Fed:
Create a Strong & Fair Economy
Stimulate Good Jobs for All: The Federal Reserve should commit to building a full employment economy. It should keep interest rates low so that the numbers job openings and job seekers are balanced and everybody who wants to can find a good job.
Invest in the Real Economy: The Fed should use its existing legal authority to provide low- and zero-interest loans so that cities and states can invest in public works projects like renewable energy generation, public transit, and affordable housing that will create good new jobs.
Research for the Public Good: The Fed should study the harmful effects of inequality and examine how policies like raising the minimum wage and guaranteeing a fair workweek can strengthen the economy and expand the middle class.
Create a More Transparent & Democratic Federal Reserve
Ensure That Working Families’ Voices Are Heard: Fed officials should regularly meet with working families and community leaders, not just business executives, in order to get a more accurate picture of how the economy is working.
Represent the Public: In regional banks around the country, Fed leaders come overwhelmingly from financial institutions and major corporations. The Fed should appoint genuine representatives of the public interest to these governance positions.
Create a Legitimate Process for Selecting Fed Presidents: In late 2015 and early 2016, the regional Fed banks will select their next presidents, who will serve five year terms. Currently, the process for selecting those presidents is completely opaque and involves no public input. That needs to change, so that the public has a real role in the selection process.
Dowload the report now.
[i] Dean Baker, “257,000 Jobs Are Great, but Those Wall Street Boys Are Really Smart” (blog post), Center for Economic and Policy Research, February 6, 2015, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/257000-jobs-are-great....
Last Updated April 21, 2015.
It’s Time to Reimagine Safety and Security in Our Communities
It’s Time to Reimagine Safety and Security in Our Communities
The over-policing and mass criminalization of Black and brown people is the moral crisis of our time. The United States...
The over-policing and mass criminalization of Black and brown people is the moral crisis of our time.
The United States has the world’s largest incarcerated population with approximately 2.2 million people currently behind prisons and jails (21 percent of the world’s prisoners) while several police departments across the country are under investigation for charges of police brutality, gross misconduct and civil rights violations.
Read the full article here.
Part-Time Schedules, Full-Time Headaches
New York Times - July 18, 2014, By Steven Greenhouse - A worker at an apparel store at Woodbury Common, an outlet mall...
New York Times - July 18, 2014, By Steven Greenhouse - A worker at an apparel store at Woodbury Common, an outlet mall north of New York City, said that even though some part-time employees clamored for more hours, the store had hired more part-timers and cut many workers’ hours to 10 a week from 20.
As soon as a nurse in Illinois arrived for her scheduled 3-to-11 p.m. shift one Christmas Day, hospital officials told her to go home because the patient “census” was low. They also ordered her to remain on call for the next four hours — all unpaid.
An employee at a specialty store in California said his 25-hour-a-week job with wildly fluctuating hours wasn’t enough to live on. But when he asked the store to schedule him between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. so he could find a second job, the store cut him to 12 hours a week.
These are among the experiences related by New York Times readers in more than 440 responses to an article published in Wednesday’s paper about a fledgling movement in which some states and cities are seeking to limit the harshest effects of increasingly unpredictable and on-call work schedules. Many readers voiced dismay with the volatility of Americans’ work schedules and the inability of many part-timers to cobble together enough hours to support their families.
In a comment that was the most highly recommended by others — 307 of them — a reader going by “pedigrees” wrote that workers were often reviled for not working hard enough or not being educated enough. “How can they work more jobs or commit to a degree program if they don’t know what their work schedule will be next week, much less next month?” the reader wrote. “It’s long past time for some certainty for workers. They drive the economy.”
Some readers were shocked by the story of Mary Coleman, who, after an hourlong bus commute, arrived for her scheduled shift at a Popeyes in Milwaukee only to be told to go home without clocking in because the store already had enough employees working. She wasn’t paid for the day.
“What happened to Ms. Coleman should be criminal,” wrote “JenD” of New Jersey in the second-most-recommended comment. “These types of stories sound like they were written by Charles Dickens in the mid-19th century.”
A reader from South Dakota, “JDT,” wrote that he was baffled as to why so many employers created turmoil for their workers by assigning them a different schedule every week, making it hard to juggle their jobs with child care or college.
“As a small-business owner for over 30 years, I have always been able to provide my part-time employees with a firm, steady and predictable schedule,” JDT wrote. “My employees are a vital and important asset. I treat them right, and they do their best for me. It’s so easy ... Why can’t big business run by M.B.A.s and highly compensated executives figure that out?”
JDT, whose name is Jim D. Taylor, runs a combined law and real estate firm in Mitchell, S.D. In a follow-up interview, he said: “In a small business, if you’ve scheduled someone to work, there should always be enough to do — you don’t send them home. I don’t know why big business is any different.”
“Why is it so hard to schedule someone for regular shifts?” Mr. Taylor asked.
A reader calling himself “Polish Ladies Cleaning Service” wrote that in the housecleaning business, it was “a particularly devilish problem” to maintain predictable schedules for employees. “If a client cancels and there’s no work, there’s no work,” he wrote. “We try to let everyone know ASAP, of course, but there are times when clients do cancel literally at the very last minute!”
In a follow-up interview, David Chou, the spokesman for Polish Ladies Cleaning Service, a company based in Brooklyn, told of a woman with a $19,000-a-month apartment who failed to confirm a housecleaning appointment scheduled for that day. So the company had to tell the scheduled housekeeper she was not needed that morning.
“We try to reschedule the ladies with other clients if that’s possible, but probably about half the times that’s not possible,” Mr. Chou said.
“Mary,” a reader from Atlanta, said it was understandable why so many employers relied on part-time workers. “We do still have issues with supply and demand that make it difficult for some businesses to hire full time (e.g., retail brick-and-mortar stores struggling with seasonal slowdowns and competition from Internet stores),” she wrote.
“How is it so many, and Obama, believe that workers have the right to tell their employer what hours they will work?” she added. “I’m thinking many here need to go to Europe or some other country. See how that works for you. Our government has no right to dictate, only to protect workers from abuse, and part-time is not abuse.”
One reader, a sales employee at an Apple store, complained in a letter that her work schedule varied every week, although she praised Apple’s medical, dental and vision benefits, even for part-timers. In a follow-up interview she said she was essentially required to be available anytime from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. six days a week — she has designated Wednesday as her day off.
“Having to give them that much availability, it means you’re at their mercy,” she said, noting that her husband works Monday through Friday. “You don’t know until the schedule comes out what your life will look like.”
Courtney Moore, a cashier at a Walmart in Cincinnati, said in an interview that she had been assigned about 40 hours a week until she told store management in June that she would begin taking college classes most mornings and some afternoons. She said she asked her manager to put her on the late shift, but to her dismay, the store reduced her to 15 hours a week.
“They said they need someone they could call whenever they need help — and they said I’m not that person,” Ms. Moore said. She said she would prefer being a dedicated full-time employee at Walmart but had to take a second job at McDonald’s instead.
A middle-aged New Yorker who lost his teaching job of two decades because of a budget squeeze in his school district said he had applied for retail jobs and was shocked by what he found.
“You had to be available every minute of every day, knowing you would be scheduled for no more than 29 hours per week and knowing there would be no normalcy to your schedule,” he wrote. “I told the person I would like to be scheduled for the same days every week so I could try to get another job to try to make ends meet. She immediately said, ‘Well, that will end our conversation right here. You have to be available every day for us.’
“I asked, ‘Even though I’m trying to get another job?’ ‘Yes.’ Then she just stared at me and asked me to leave. What kind of company does this? What kind of company will not even let you get another job?”
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