Bank of America whistleblowers say the bank directed them to lie and push homeowners into foreclosure.

What Congress and the media don’t understand about food stamps.

“There’s a risk that the economy’s doing well, except for most of the people in it.”

McDonalds gives a low-wage employee her pay in the form of a debit card–with numerous fees that in effect reduce her wage.

Video: Sarah Jaffe explains the debit card payment strategy.

It was a hard fight, but one we’re glad to see turned out the right way. The Medicaid provision was one of the key components of the ACA, but it was put at risk by a Supreme Court decision that left it up to the states to accept or decline the funds. Many states have—but others, like Texas, are refusing, leaving millions without coverage.

In other states, the process is still unfolding:

• About half a million people are waiting on the Michigan state Senate, who should vote this week on a state House-passed proposal to accept expanded Medicaid funds. Gov. Rick Snyder has promised to sign the bill into law.
• As the state legislature in Ohio debates accepting expanded funds, a new poll shows 63 percent of Ohioans want the expansion, which would cover an estimated 275,000 people.
• In Virginia, a commission to study accepting expanded Medicaid funds had its first meeting this week. The next meeting will take place in August.
• In New Hampshire, the state House—which supports accepting expanded funds—is working to craft a measure that will be able to get through the Republican-controlled Senate. This may mean a commission will be created to review the issue.
• Unfortunately, in Maine, Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a measure to accept expanded funds. The bill, which would cover 60,000 people, passed by strong but not quite veto-proof margins, so the fate of Medicaid in Maine remains unclear.

The reason food stamp enrollment is high is because the job market is terrible.

In fact, food stamp programs keep people out of poverty…

…so targeting them for big cuts is just cruel.

#RickScottFail: Florida Governor bans local earned sick leave legislation.

The sequester’s effects are just beginning to be felt in many places.

What if the minimum wage had kept up with worker productivity? (Hint: it’d be a lot higher.)

Question:

The managers and directors at my office threaten to fire employees for things that are personal and non-work-related. I’ve been called stupid and had something thrown at me by my boss. The president of the company travels 99% of the time, so these higher-ups do not have to answer to anyone. I’ve looked up workplace bullying to find that it does not fall under Title VII, nor is it acknowledged at all. How can employees defend themselves against these threats?  Why is bullying not allowed in schools but is allowed in the workplace? What gives managers and directors the right to viciously attack employees? Can you help? Thanks so much.

— Standing Up, Connecticut

Answer:

Hey, before you read my answer to this week’s question, I want to highlight the release of our new two-tiered website, FixMyJob.com and OrganizeWith.US. I’ve previewed the site in this column before, but now we’re officially up and running. Check it out and let me know what you think. And send the link to that friend or neighbor who you know is dealing with a problem right now, because he or she doesn’t have to go it alone.

It’s astonishing to me whenever I see adults who haven’t outgrown bullying. For some people, the whole reason to have a position of power is that you can mistreat people under you. When it’s the person who sets your schedule, your assignments or your pay, it’s especially intimidating.

No one deserves this treatment. Unfortunately, you don’t have to look far or long to find other examples of this far-too-common problem. Judging from the number of submissions on this topic as well as what I’ve found just talking to workers directly, it feels like workplace bullying is practically an epidemic. According to a 2010 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute:

35% of the U.S. workforce (an estimated 53.5 million Americans) report being bullied at work; an additional 15% witness it. Half of all Americans have directly experienced it. Simultaneously, 50% report neither experiencing nor witnessing bullying. Hence, a “silent epidemic.”

You’re correct that Title VII—the federal anti-discrimination law—does not outlaw bullying or harassment in general, only harassment that is based on characteristics like the employee’s race, gender or religion, among others.  However, that does not mean it is legal for employers to treat employees this way.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes that workers have a right to a workplace free of violence, and that workplace violence includes both physical and verbal abuse. In some states there’s a growing push to stop this kind of abusethrough legislation.

The important thing to remember is that you’re not alone. From the sound of it, you’re far from the only person getting this mistreatment, so it’s worth thinking about talking with other employees about what they’re experiencing. And it’s not a bad idea to keep detailed notes of what’s happening and who witnessed it. The biggest advantage a bully can have is the belief that his or her victim will keep quiet.

Don’t forget, most employees in the private sector have the right under the National Labor Relations Act to join together in demanding a stop to this abuse. And you can start by visiting FixMyJob.com.

Unemployment continues to be the biggest danger–so we should address it now.

Inequality, mobility, luck and rock and roll.

Supply side economics has failed decisively. Time to put it away.

Natural disasters and the mortgage industry.

A look back at the voter suppression project of 2012.

Cartoon of the day: helpful tips for dealing with student loan debt.

Right now, North Carolina has 17 days set aside for early voting. During the 2012 election, more than 50 percent of ballots cast occurred prior to Election Day. Craig Alston, a Working America member, is especially concerned for what shortening early voting days means for him and his community. “Having more than 2 weeks of early voting is beneficial in order to find time to cast my ballot,” Craig says. “I work 12 hour shifts, and having these multiple options enables me to vote.”

The state legislature also wants to require everyone to have a state-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, to be able to vote. According to the Board of Elections, about 10 percent of North Carolinians don’t have a driver’s license–many of them being seniors, low-income folks, and people with disabilities. Requiring everyone to have a picture ID is unnecessary and unfair. It imposes a cost on the simple act of voting, including travel to the DMV and the cost associated with getting necessary documents like a birth certificate.

Florence Price-Harrell says voter ID laws would restrict access to voting for people in her own life. “One of my best friends is sick and is in a wheelchair,” Florence says. “She has not driven for 11 years. With her limited transportation, requiring her to have a picture ID would make it even harder for her to vote. Like her, there are many voters across our state that would struggle to access and afford transportation to the DMV in order to obtain a picture ID.”

Our members have gathered petitions to Governor McCrory, written letters to the editor, and spoken out to defend the right to vote. And they’re not alone: The North Carolina NAACP has been organizing protests in Raleigh against to the state legislature’s attacks on voting rights. The protests have been drawing thousands of people from across the state, gaining national attention.

North Carolinians like Craig and Florence are committed to defending everyone’s right to vote.

On June 15, hundreds of working families from Indiana, Michigan and Ohio will come together for the Middle Class Survival Rally in Monroe, Mich. The goal of the rally is to educate people about the ongoing attacks on working families in the United States.

Mike Smith, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison to the United Way of Monroe County, Mich., expanded upon the goals of the rally:

This is a movement, something we want everybody to be involved in. This is about Michigan and Ohio coming together. We share a border and we share a lot of members. Many of the local unions in the Toledo area go into Monroe County. This is about everybody working together, going in the same direction.

Ray Wood of UAW Local 14 said the rally is open to the public: “It’s not a union issue, it is an everyone issue because what the unions have done is improve the quality of working life for everyone.”

Local 14 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Buford explained why the rally is important:

Your rights as a worker, your wages, your benefits are all under attack. Some companies are knocking people down to part-time and if you are looking for work and you are able to find a job, the wages are very low in a lot of cases. People have to stand up soon.

The rally will be held Saturday, June 15, from noon until 5 p.m. on Dog Lady Island in Monroe. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) will address the crowd.

Reposted from AFL-CIO NOW

Michael D’Aquino, an OSHA public affairs officer for the agency’s Atlanta-West office, confirmed the investigation, the LaGrange Citizen reports:

“We’ll be visiting the [Sewon plant] trying to learn what happened and in what order,” D’Aquino said. “We’ll be looking at physical evidence as well as talking to eyewitnesses and learning as much as possible about the incident.” OSHA also will look at previous reports of misconduct by Sewon, potentially including the 2010 death of a worker who fell 50 feet in a construction accident.

While the Troup County coroner’s office has not released details of its investigation, which has been sent to the state crime lab in Atlanta, the LaGrange Citizen says an anonymous employee reported several details of the incident and work conditions at the factory that are troubling. The employee, who has worked at the location for two years, told the newspaper the assembly line was unbearably hot because the air conditioner on the line wasn’t working properly and several employees in the last week passed out while working.

“I heard that [Pickard] complained of chest pain several times before she was sent to the break room,” the newspaper quotes the employee as saying. Pickard was sent to a break room at that point, but that room also had no air conditioning, something the employee said management does to discourage loitering in the break room. The room was so hot, he said, candy in the vending machines melted. Pickard eventually was sent to the front office, where the employee said Pickard sat for three hours before an ambulance was called. Pickard reportedly died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Sewon says it conducted a “thorough” preliminary investigation and concluded Pickard’s death was not work-related:

On May 29, Mrs. Pickard arrived to the line at 6:30 a.m. Then, on or about 8:26 a.m., the management was made aware of Mrs. Pickard’s condition. The EMS was immediately contacted around 8:27 a.m. and EMS arrived about 8:37 a.m. Mrs. Pickard entered the ambulance under her own strength around 8:42 a.m. and left the facility to go to the hospital.

The lawyer for the Pickard family, Robert Bruner, told the newspaper the company’s press release was, at best, misleading, and that the company was not forthcoming with the family about the reasons for the death.

The anonymous employee reported work conditions at the plant are similar to a sweatshop. “It’s a really hostile environment,” the newspaper quoted. “I think [the managers] seek to create an adversarial relationship with employees,” he said. “If they had hot pokers, they’d stab you with them…. I really believe they have contempt for their workers.”

Sewon was fined $135,900 by OSHA for safety violations three years ago. “There is no reason to leave employees unprotected,” said Andre Richards, then-director of OSHA’s Atlanta-West Office. “Management is aware of the deficiencies in their safety and health program and needs to take action.”

More on this story.

Reposted from AFL-CIO NOW

With the rapid rise of worker centers and alternate ways to gain a voice on the job, a traditional union is no longer the only way to organize and bargain for paid sick leave, a raise and other workplace rights. Just look at the Walmart strikers and restaurant workers speaking out about the need for paid sick leave. Worker centers representing domestic and food service workers and groups like the Dancers’ Alliance and Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, are expanding the definition of what it means to be a part of the labor movement.

At the Netroots Nation 2013 conference, a group of people representing traditional labor and worker centers will be discussing “Alt-Labor” in a panel on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PDT.

For those of you who have never heard of Netroots Nation, here’s what it’s all about:

Each year, thousands of bloggers, newsmakers, social justice advocates, labor and organizational leaders, grassroots organizers and online activists come together to make new connections, hone their organizing skills, share best practices and build stronger relationships with others working on the issues they care most about. And each year, some of the brightest minds in progressive politics come to Netroots Nation to speak with—and hear from—our community.

Moderating the Alt-Labor discussion is digital organizer and co-founder of Coworker.org Jess Kutch. Joining her are Galen Hooks, a choreographer and chair of the Dancers’ Alliance, organizer David Wehde of Working America, Jennifer Angarita, who runs the AFL-CIO National Worker Center Partnership program, and Gregory Cendana, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership & Advancement.

Stay tuned for the wrap of this exciting discussion on the AFL-CIO Now blog and more updates from Netroots by following the hashtag #NN13 on Twitter.

Elsewhere at Netroots, union members and allies will be out in full force, participating in the ever popular “Hug a Union Thug” booth (stay tuned for new pictures here), a pre-conference lowdown on firefighting 101 from Fire Fighters (IAFF), as well as a chance to get up close and personal with a fire truck and gear; and checking out the Laborers (LIUNA) mobile training unit on solar panels, as well as Made In America booths (think Ghirardelli chocolates) and union-made beer tastings.

Working America will host a game show, “Can My Boss Do That?” and spread the word about the new organizing site, FixMyJob.com.

AFT President Randi Weingarten will speak on a panel about gun violence and school safety. Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen will speak on a panel about reclaiming democracy, and UNITE HERE member Cathy Youngblood, who’s running for a spot on the Hyatt Hotels Board of Directors, also will be speaking on a “Making Wall Street Tremble” panel.

See the full list of Netroots panels and events here.

Reposted from AFL-CIO NOW

Photo by Make the Road New York on Facebook

With bipartisan House vote, Michigan is one step closer to Medicaid expansion.

Two GOP-sponsored labor bills would restrict workers’ rights, create zeroes of jobs!

The immigration mover and shaker you’ve never heard of.

Big shift at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Attention Sen. Blunt: Majority of Missourians support path to citizenship.

Seriously, Wells Fargo?

Finally: Remembering the beautiful life of an activist against Walmart.

9) If you’re hitting the ceiling. One of the biggest problems we hear is that people don’t feel like there’s any opportunity for advancement at their job.

8 ) If your boss is a jerk. Just because someone signs your paycheck doesn’t give them the right to abuse you. You deserve respect.

7) If you never know when you’ll have to be there. Does your schedule keep changing? Do your days off turn into work days? Are you getting more shifts than you can handle—or not enough to get by?

6) If you’re not feeling safe at work. You shouldn’t be afraid that just being at work could mean you wind up injured, sick or worse.

5) If you can spot a pattern of unfairness. Harassment and discrimination are illegal—but a lot of workers don’t know what their right are if they’re being targeted.

4) Because the laws that should protect workers are under attack. Republicans in the U.S. Senate are blocking nominees for the U.S. Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board, endangering the ability to enforce decades-old protections for working people. That’s why it’s more important than ever to know your rights and speak out on the job.

3) Because working people’s power is eroding relative to corporations. We live in a time when the share of the economy made up by wages is shrinking, and the share of the economy made up of corporate profits is increasing. Organizing at work helps shift the balance of power back towards us a little.

2) Because you spend so much of your day at work. You shouldn’t have to dread the place you spend so much of your time.

1) Because you’re not in this alone. Chances are, whatever problem you have at work, your co-workers are dealing with it too. You’re going to need help from others to fix what’s wrong at your job, and when you take positive steps, the people you work with will benefit, too.

Question:

My son works part-time at a shipping/receiving business. He was hired by an outside trucking company to work there. His co-workers who are actual employees of the shipping/receiving business are full-time. They are told that they cannot receive time-and-a-half for overtime because the company is from Tennessee and the contract (not a union contract) was signed under Tennessee rules. The company is in Georgia. (My son is not affected because he is hired from the outside and only gets about 32 hours at most per week.) I’ve never heard of this before. Is that true, or is the employer ripping them off?

— Concerned Parent, Georgia

Answer:

That’s a novel excuse, but not a very good one.

Whether or not Georgia law applies, the vast majority of workers in the United States are covered by the federal wage and hour law, the Fair Labor Standards Act. States can provide stronger protections for workers – such as a higher minimum wage – but they cannot prevent federal law from applying to workers in their state covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Also, workers cannot give uptheir right to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act through the terms of their employment contract. As for the state laws, as a general rule states apply their wage and hour laws to any employee working in that state, regardless of where the employer is based.

Here’s something else about overtime that will probably interest you. There’s been a move recently in the U.S. House of Representatives to change overtime laws—purportedly to give workers more “flexibility” by offering comp time in lieu of overtime. Guess what—all the “flexibility” goes to the employer, and ultimately what it would amount to is an interest-free loan from you to your boss. The really insulting thing is how these congressional Republicans argue that trading real overtime pay for hours your managers might let you use at their convenience is somehow pro-worker. (Here’s a great video that explains everything you need to understand about the inaptly named Working Families Flexibility Act.)

It’s not going anywhere right now—President Obama has said that he would veto the bill if it makes it to his desk—but watch out for it. This is another example of a power grab by employers who have too much power over workers already. Think it’s time to start leveling the playing field? You might want to point your son here.

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That’s up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure.

Why? Lots of reasons. For one thing, wages have stagnated even as American workers get more productive. Between 1973 and 2011, productivity increased 80 percent while wages (median hourly compensation adjusted for inflation) increased only 10 percent.

From 2000 until today, we have become 23 percent more productive, while wages adjusted for inflation have stayed the same.

Not surprisingly, the stagnation of worker wages and the drop in median family income mirrors the decrease in workers represented by unions. When workers don’t have a way to advocate for better wages, more health benefits, and adequate time off to spend time with their families, employers have no reason to do anything but pay the least amount required. This is especially true of large companies with more than 100 workers, who employ 66 percent of low-wage workers.

These charts make you mad? Well, look at more of them.

After that, join Working America and become part of nation’s fastest growing organization for working families. It’s only with strength in numbers that we can create an economy that works for workers.

The autopsy could take three to four months due to a backlog of cases, according to Troup County Coroner Jeff Cook. But we do know that workers at the LaGrange Sewon plant work in extreme heat for hours on end. In the same week, several other workers passed out due to the heat.

According to an anonymous employee who spoke to the LaGrange Citizen, management keeps the air conditioning off in the break room to “discourage loitering.” It’s so hot in the break room, he says, that the candy in the vending machines melted.

“I heard that [Pickard] complained of chest pain several times before she was sent to the break room,” he also said. She was then sent to the front office, where she sat for three hours before an ambulance was called. The anonymous employee reported that he heard Pickard died on her way to the hospital.

Pickard’s tragic death is an all-too familiar story of how a combination of neglect, contempt, and apathy toward worker conditions can have terrible consequences.

In 2011, Georgia had 111 reported workplace fatalities, and nearly 79,000 workplace injuries and illnesses. Georgia is also a so-called “right to work” state, where the government bans fair share contracts and unions are sapped of resources. The Sewon plant is one of many foreign-owned manufacturing plants across the South that offer almost exclusively non-union, low-wage work.

Thankfully, OSHA has launched an investigation of Pickard’s death. But there are only 50 workplace safety and health inspectors in Georgia, and it would take OSHA 146 years to inspect each workplace once, according to the AFL-CIO.

But even at this exact Sewon plant, this wasn’t the first worker fatality. At the same plant in 2010, a worker fell to his death. Last year, two workers were injured in a crane accident.

OSHA fined the plant in 2010, but management’s behavior did not change. “It’s a really hostile environment,” said the anonymous worker, “I really believe they [management] have contempt for their workers.”

“When my hubby worked at there 2-3 years ago he would always tell me how hot it was even back then, and then the uniform was long sleeve shirts,” wrote LaGrange Citizen reader Amanda Dawn Breazeal, “He said they had air and fans but they rarely to never turned them on…When my hubby broke his finger, he asked to go to the hospital and they told him no!”

The story of this particular plant is one of many, but there is hope. If this story sounds familiar, visit FixMyJob.com and learn how you can improve your workplace.

On Tuesday, negotiators from Patriot Coal walked out of talks with the Mine Workers (UMWA), leaving thousands of retirees in danger of losing their health care. The company also canceled talks scheduled through next week, UMWA reports via press release. UMWA President Cecil Roberts reported that the company and the union were only about $30 million to $35 million apart. Meanwhile, hundreds of high-paid executives at the company will be receiving about $25 million in bonuses.

Roberts said:

We are very disappointed by this action. We had made significant progress toward reaching an agreement that provided a workable alternative to the severe terms Patriot asked for last spring and that were approved by the bankruptcy court in St. Louis. The union had agreed to more than $400 million in savings for the company over the life of the current contract, which gives them the money they say they need to survive. But that still wasn’t enough for them.

UMWA said the company is moving ahead with the implementation of terms and conditions approved by a judge, which means that Patriot will cut off the current health care system for more than 23,000 retirees, their dependents and surviving spouses. The old system will be replaced with a Voluntary Employee Benefit Association that only has guaranteed funding of $15 million, plus a royalty payment of 20 cents per ton of coal produced, which is projected to raise another $5 million a year. UMWA also will be given 35% ownership in Patriot Coal, which they can sell after the value of the company—that’s in bankruptcy—is established. Current retiree health care costs are about $5 million a month.

Patriot also will be able to deny all retiree health care benefits to 40% of currently active workers who have already worked enough years to earn those benefits.  The company also can reduce pay, benefits and paid time off for active workers.

Roberts said UMWA will not give up the fight to make sure Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, the companies that the UMWA argues set Patriot up specifically to fail to dump employee health care costs, take responsibility:

We are not letting them off the hook. We are airing a new round of television spots that feature the voices of the victims of their scheme. Thousands of us will be back in front of Peabody’s offices next week, and more events are planned in St. Louis and throughout the coalfields in the coming months. No matter what the events of the next few weeks may bring, this struggle is a long, long way from being over.

Reposted from AFL-CIO NOW

Photo by United Mine Workers of America on Facebook