Audio
May 25, 2010 - 1:37pm
By Jesse Russell
Workers at a Mott’s apple juice and apple sauce plant in Western New York are on strike. The plant is owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group and the workers walked off the job when an agreement couldn’t be reached concerning a management proposal of slashing wages by $1.50. The company has said it wants to reduce wages at the plant so they are more in line with what other plants pay in the region. By Jesse Russell
Workers at a Mott’s apple juice and apple sauce plant in Western New York are on strike. The plant is owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group and the workers walked off the job when an agreement couldn’t be reached concerning a management proposal of slashing wages by $1.50. The company has said it wants to reduce wages at the plant so they are more in line with what other plants pay in the region.
May 18, 2010 - 12:59pm
By Jesse Russell
Two weeks ago Wall Street was the target of a campaign to bring attention to the plight of working class Americans struggling to make ends meet who want stronger oversight of financial institutions. On Monday the target shifted to K Street in Washing, DC, the home to major lobbying firms. Sarah Gordon from Buffalo was there:
[Gordon]: We’re here because the people bailed out the banks and now it is time for the banks to bail out the people. By Jesse Russell
Two weeks ago Wall Street was the target of a campaign to bring attention to the plight of working class Americans struggling to make ends meet who want stronger oversight of financial institutions. On Monday the target shifted to K Street in Washing, DC, the home to major lobbying firms. Sarah Gordon from Buffalo was there:
[Gordon]: We’re here because the people bailed out the banks and now it is time for the banks to bail out the people.
May 14, 2010 - 11:56am
State workers in New Jersey are currently sorting through a number of proposals introduced by Governor Chris Christie this week. One bill of particular concern to workers would end cost-of-living adjustments in state pensions while increasing the amount of money workers need to contribute to those pensions. It would also see the retirement age in the Garden State increase from 62 to 65. Additionally, under the new plan retired employees will be required to continue contributing to health care. State workers in New Jersey are currently sorting through a number of proposals introduced by Governor Chris Christie this week. One bill of particular concern to workers would end cost-of-living adjustments in state pensions while increasing the amount of money workers need to contribute to those pensions. It would also see the retirement age in the Garden State increase from 62 to 65. Additionally, under the new plan retired employees will be required to continue contributing to health care.
May 13, 2010 - 11:59am
Pfizer, Inc. announced plans this week to lay off or relocate up to 1,400 workers in New York City. The move would cut the company’s city staff by nearly a quarter. Pfizer’s world headquarters has been based in New York for more than 150 years. While it plans to continue operating out of a building on 42nd Street an office building on Third Avenue has been put up for sale. According to the New York Times the company has already cut more than 2000 jobs in the city since June 2005. Pfizer, Inc. announced plans this week to lay off or relocate up to 1,400 workers in New York City. The move would cut the company’s city staff by nearly a quarter. Pfizer’s world headquarters has been based in New York for more than 150 years. While it plans to continue operating out of a building on 42nd Street an office building on Third Avenue has been put up for sale. According to the New York Times the company has already cut more than 2000 jobs in the city since June 2005.
May 3, 2010 - 10:53am
While Thursday’s March on Wall Street was organized by labor unions not everyone in the movement thinks attacking Wall Street is in the best interest of progress. Ironworkers Local 46 Business Manager Robert Ledwith:
[Ledwith]: They should be prosecuted, but we depend so much on Wall Street economy if we continue to press too hard on matters that are outside of our jurisdiction, if you will, I think we're going to hurt ourselves and consequently all working people will suffer. While Thursday’s March on Wall Street was organized by labor unions not everyone in the movement thinks attacking Wall Street is in the best interest of progress. Ironworkers Local 46 Business Manager Robert Ledwith:
[Ledwith]: They should be prosecuted, but we depend so much on Wall Street economy if we continue to press too hard on matters that are outside of our jurisdiction, if you will, I think we're going to hurt ourselves and consequently all working people will suffer.
May 2, 2010 - 3:35pm
By Mike Clifford
New York, NY—“Our voices must be heard not just here, but all the way to Washington DC…So---Good Jobs for All, Good Jobs for All…
Protestors lined the sidewalks from New York’s City Hall all the way to Wall Street sending a message that it’s time for Wall Street to stop playing casino games with the economy and time to start backing investments that will pay dividends and provide jobs for working people.
Rich Nebb (Public Employees Federation) “We are all hurting: people who have jobs are hurting because we’re going to bear a lot more brunt of the tax burden from all the people who don’t have jobs. People who don’t have jobs are hurting—they don’t got money to put food on the family table, they don’t got money to pay the mortgage—it’s not right, it’s not fair.”
Jim Fox (NY State Public Employees Federation) “Well we’re out here like everybody else is out here, to protest against Wall Street; it’s really affecting everybody. We have a larger group than we usually do, because it’s really now affecting state employees—Civil Servants. This week here because of Wall Street, we’re taking a 20% cut in our pay—not fair!”
Electrical worker Jim Brown is nearing retirement, but that’s in question now after a major corporation cashed-in the plant he had been working for, for most of his adult life.
Jim Brown: (Local 81359 IUE-CWA) “I’m 59, I had 35 years with General Electric and they sold me to a power management and then they cut my wages almost in half, so that means my pension with them will be cut in half—real nice..huh!”
Clifford: “So you don’t think you’re keeping up with the people on Wall Street?”
Brown: “I don’t think so, I think they’re a little bit ahead, a little bit younger too.”
Clifford: “How do fix that?”
Brown: “How do I fix it; right here, right now, tell ‘em how we feel and hopefully they’ll get a message.”
Also in the crowd were everyday New Yorkers with no union ties. People like Ed Cahill who believes Wall Street helped sour to the local economy to the point where he faces eviction from his apartment.
Ed Cahill (New Yorker who faces eviction from his Lower East Side Apartment): “There were people on Wall Street who knew that this collapse was going to happen. They could have the choice of notifying the proper authorities that a 1929 Stock Market Crash was on its way, or they could profit from it; and I think it’s disgusting that they didn’t report it to the authorities—that’s kind of disgusting to me.
Some New York Union Leaders decided to skip this event---Local 46 Business Manager Bob Ledwith says all this Wall Street Bashing could be counterproductive for the average worker.
Ledwith: “I think that right now, the way the economy is unsettled—Yes, they are nefarious in what they did, they were wrong, they should be prosecuted; but we depend in New York so much on Wall Street economy, that if we continue to press too hard on matters that are outside of our jurisdiction if you will, I think we’re going to hurt ourselves and the economy of New York City—consequently all working people I believe will suffer.
From the management side of the debate, Building Trades Association President Louis Coletti saw the protest as a chance to give Wall Street a reminder that some debt can be constructive if it is used to back real ventures and not just paper.
Colletti: “We’ve seen how creative Wall Street can be in coming up with new financial vehicles; we need them at the table to come up with some financial creativity to help us fund making this city and this country more competitive.”
Colletti say the financial sector’s response to World War II was the creation of Savings Bonds. Now, he says Wall Street could respond to today’s economic crisis by creating a National Infrastructure Bank which could raise capital for labor intensive much needed improvement projects and would allow New Yorkers and American’s participate in the payment.
Colletti: “Construction is the highest economic multiplier, we are falling behind the rest of the world in our transportation, and infrastructure, and school construction—and we need to create good union construction jobs to strengthen the middle class of this city.”
It’s little coincidence workers picked as their theme song before marching off…Little Respecting…reporting from New York, Mike Clifford Worker’s Independent News. By Mike Clifford
New York, NY—“Our voices must be heard not just here, but all the way to Washington DC…So---Good Jobs for All, Good Jobs for All…
Protestors lined the sidewalks from New York’s City Hall all the way to Wall Street sending a message that it’s time for Wall Street to stop playing casino games with the economy and time to start backing investments that will pay dividends and provide jobs for working people.
Rich Nebb (Public Employees Federation) “We are all hurting: people who have jobs are hurting because we’re going to bear a lot more brunt of the tax burden from all the people who don’t have jobs. People who don’t have jobs are hurting—they don’t got money to put food on the family table, they don’t got money to pay the mortgage—it’s not right, it’s not fair.”
Jim Fox (NY State Public Employees Federation) “Well we’re out here like everybody else is out here, to protest against Wall Street; it’s really affecting everybody. We have a larger group than we usually do, because it’s really now affecting state employees—Civil Servants. This week here because of Wall Street, we’re taking a 20% cut in our pay—not fair!”
Electrical worker Jim Brown is nearing retirement, but that’s in question now after a major corporation cashed-in the plant he had been working for, for most of his adult life.
Jim Brown: (Local 81359 IUE-CWA) “I’m 59, I had 35 years with General Electric and they sold me to a power management and then they cut my wages almost in half, so that means my pension with them will be cut in half—real nice..huh!”
Clifford: “So you don’t think you’re keeping up with the people on Wall Street?”
Brown: “I don’t think so, I think they’re a little bit ahead, a little bit younger too.”
Clifford: “How do fix that?”
Brown: “How do I fix it; right here, right now, tell ‘em how we feel and hopefully they’ll get a message.”
Also in the crowd were everyday New Yorkers with no union ties. People like Ed Cahill who believes Wall Street helped sour to the local economy to the point where he faces eviction from his apartment.
Ed Cahill (New Yorker who faces eviction from his Lower East Side Apartment): “There were people on Wall Street who knew that this collapse was going to happen. They could have the choice of notifying the proper authorities that a 1929 Stock Market Crash was on its way, or they could profit from it; and I think it’s disgusting that they didn’t report it to the authorities—that’s kind of disgusting to me.
Some New York Union Leaders decided to skip this event---Local 46 Business Manager Bob Ledwith says all this Wall Street Bashing could be counterproductive for the average worker.
Ledwith: “I think that right now, the way the economy is unsettled—Yes, they are nefarious in what they did, they were wrong, they should be prosecuted; but we depend in New York so much on Wall Street economy, that if we continue to press too hard on matters that are outside of our jurisdiction if you will, I think we’re going to hurt ourselves and the economy of New York City—consequently all working people I believe will suffer.
From the management side of the debate, Building Trades Association President Louis Coletti saw the protest as a chance to give Wall Street a reminder that some debt can be constructive if it is used to back real ventures and not just paper.
Colletti: “We’ve seen how creative Wall Street can be in coming up with new financial vehicles; we need them at the table to come up with some financial creativity to help us fund making this city and this country more competitive.”
Colletti say the financial sector’s response to World War II was the creation of Savings Bonds. Now, he says Wall Street could respond to today’s economic crisis by creating a National Infrastructure Bank which could raise capital for labor intensive much needed improvement projects and would allow New Yorkers and American’s participate in the payment.
Colletti: “Construction is the highest economic multiplier, we are falling behind the rest of the world in our transportation, and infrastructure, and school construction—and we need to create good union construction jobs to strengthen the middle class of this city.”
It’s little coincidence workers picked as their theme song before marching off…Little Respecting…reporting from New York, Mike Clifford Worker’s Independent News.
April 30, 2010 - 7:04am
By Mike Clifford
The steps of St Patrick’s Cathedral were jammed with hardhats as workers and managers in the construction trades paid tribute to workers who lost their lives in the past year. Gary LaBarbera is President of the Building and Construction Trades Council in New York
LaBerbera: “Construction is the second most dangerous occupation in the country, and although safety is the most important thing to us, unfortunately accidents do happen, and when one of our brothers or sisters loses their life, it affects us all—it’s a true brotherhood.”
Standing in the doorway of the Cathedral, wearing religious vestments and a hard hat, Deacon Frank Munoz was preparing for the Mass. He brings a special appreciation to Workers Memorial day, because he is also a Lather and Reinforcing Iron Worker a union job that he believes most New Yorkers know little about.
Deacon Munoz: “I think they see work going on and they say union guys are delaying work, union guys are getting paid too much, but they don’t know that we’re the only one in the world that can do a two day cycle. A floor a day, nowhere else in the world can do that, we’re the only ones here in New York.”
Clifford: “You’re standing here in Vestments and a construction hat?”
Deacon Munoz: “Yes I am” Clifford: “Explain that?
Deacon Munoz: “I am also ordained as a Deacon for the Archdiocese of New York three years ago, so I serve the people in my community about Christ, but I also serve New York with building the high rises.”
This is only the third year that New York took time out to remember the fallen on Worker’s Memorial Day; there was no such day when Iron Workers Union Council President Eddie Walsh lost his dad.
Walsh: “My father was a member of the Machine Riggers Local 170 in New York, and they were taking some printing presses out, and unfortunately the boom buckled and he was underneath the load.”
Clifford: “You feel like it is safer today, why?”
Walsh: “Because we have legislation, we work hand in hand with the employers as well as the legislators here in the city and in New York State.”
Clifford: “So apprenticeships things like that?”
Walsh: “Most definitely the training; they are trained, we’ve got registered apprentice programs with the state, we’ve got skilled people that do the job.”
Long Island Business Agent Ronnie Richardson with Local 46 was one of the thousands who paid his respects. He agrees the job is safer and workers are far better trained in 2010. At the same time he notes economic pressures are greater than they have been in many years. He says that’s a big part of the picture in Manhattan this Worker’s Memorial Day.
Richardson: “You know we work hard, and now with the economy the way it is, they’re pushing us to work a little bit harder every day to make the money and unfortunately guys get hurt so, we’re under a lot of pressure to get the job done right and on time. And, you know the most important thing for us, is that we come back to our families at the end of the day—so we are here to pay our respects to the ones that didn’t.
In New York, Mike Clifford for Workers Independent News.
By Mike Clifford
The steps of St Patrick’s Cathedral were jammed with hardhats as workers and managers in the construction trades paid tribute to workers who lost their lives in the past year. Gary LaBarbera is President of the Building and Construction Trades Council in New York
LaBerbera: “Construction is the second most dangerous occupation in the country, and although safety is the most important thing to us, unfortunately accidents do happen, and when one of our brothers or sisters loses their life, it affects us all—it’s a true brotherhood.”
Standing in the doorway of the Cathedral, wearing religious vestments and a hard hat, Deacon Frank Munoz was preparing for the Mass. He brings a special appreciation to Workers Memorial day, because he is also a Lather and Reinforcing Iron Worker a union job that he believes most New Yorkers know little about.
Deacon Munoz: “I think they see work going on and they say union guys are delaying work, union guys are getting paid too much, but they don’t know that we’re the only one in the world that can do a two day cycle. A floor a day, nowhere else in the world can do that, we’re the only ones here in New York.”
Clifford: “You’re standing here in Vestments and a construction hat?”
Deacon Munoz: “Yes I am” Clifford: “Explain that?
Deacon Munoz: “I am also ordained as a Deacon for the Archdiocese of New York three years ago, so I serve the people in my community about Christ, but I also serve New York with building the high rises.”
This is only the third year that New York took time out to remember the fallen on Worker’s Memorial Day; there was no such day when Iron Workers Union Council President Eddie Walsh lost his dad.
Walsh: “My father was a member of the Machine Riggers Local 170 in New York, and they were taking some printing presses out, and unfortunately the boom buckled and he was underneath the load.”
Clifford: “You feel like it is safer today, why?”
Walsh: “Because we have legislation, we work hand in hand with the employers as well as the legislators here in the city and in New York State.”
Clifford: “So apprenticeships things like that?”
Walsh: “Most definitely the training; they are trained, we’ve got registered apprentice programs with the state, we’ve got skilled people that do the job.”
Long Island Business Agent Ronnie Richardson with Local 46 was one of the thousands who paid his respects. He agrees the job is safer and workers are far better trained in 2010. At the same time he notes economic pressures are greater than they have been in many years. He says that’s a big part of the picture in Manhattan this Worker’s Memorial Day.
Richardson: “You know we work hard, and now with the economy the way it is, they’re pushing us to work a little bit harder every day to make the money and unfortunately guys get hurt so, we’re under a lot of pressure to get the job done right and on time. And, you know the most important thing for us, is that we come back to our families at the end of the day—so we are here to pay our respects to the ones that didn’t.
In New York, Mike Clifford for Workers Independent News.
April 29, 2010 - 10:21am
Labor organizations spent Wednesday pausing to recognize Workers' Memorial Day. April 28 is the date in 1971 when the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect in the United States. In New York City workers gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to honor construction accident victims and their families. Ronnie Richardson is Business Agent for Metallic Lathers Union Local 46.
[Richardson1]: You know we are under a lot of pressure to get the job done
right and one time so, and the most important thing for us is that we
come back to our families at the end of the day; so we're here to pay
respects to the ones that didn't
Construction is consistently ranked the number two most dangerous job, but Richardson doesn’t think most New Yorkers are aware of that.
[Richardson2]: I think people in the trades to, but as a whole, I think the
public really doesn't understand; we work hard and now with the
economy the way it is, they're pushing us a little harder every day to
make the money and unfortunately guys get hurt.
Labor organizations spent Wednesday pausing to recognize Workers' Memorial Day. April 28 is the date in 1971 when the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect in the United States. In New York City workers gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to honor construction accident victims and their families. Ronnie Richardson is Business Agent for Metallic Lathers Union Local 46.
[Richardson1]: You know we are under a lot of pressure to get the job done
right and one time so, and the most important thing for us is that we
come back to our families at the end of the day; so we're here to pay
respects to the ones that didn't
Construction is consistently ranked the number two most dangerous job, but Richardson doesn’t think most New Yorkers are aware of that.
[Richardson2]: I think people in the trades to, but as a whole, I think the
public really doesn't understand; we work hard and now with the
economy the way it is, they're pushing us a little harder every day to
make the money and unfortunately guys get hurt.
April 26, 2010 - 12:43pm
It could be beneficial to have a college degree and live in New York City if the a study by the comptroller’s office is accurate. According to the study released on Friday males with college degrees who live in New York are likely to earn $256,000 more average over their lifetime than males in other parts of the country. Females in similar circumstances are likely to earn $184,000 more than peers in the rest of the country. It could be beneficial to have a college degree and live in New York City if the a study by the comptroller’s office is accurate. According to the study released on Friday males with college degrees who live in New York are likely to earn $256,000 more average over their lifetime than males in other parts of the country. Females in similar circumstances are likely to earn $184,000 more than peers in the rest of the country.
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