Ron Collins, Communication Workers of America (CWA) joins Thom Hartmann. A job that’s becoming increasingly harder and harder to find in America over the last few years is one in the call center industry. Since 2006 – a half-millions American call center jobs have been packed up and shipped overseas to low-wage countries. Companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and T-Mobile are the some of the biggest culprits when it comes to killing American call center jobs. But, Democrats in Congress have been pushing legislation to put an end ot this mass exodus of jobs. The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act cuts off federal loans and benefits to companies that off-shore their call center jobs. This bill also keeps a running list of companies that have off-shored call center jobs in an effort to discourage the practice. Back in June, the House of Representatives took a vote on this legislation – and most Republicans lined up against it – killing the bill – and leaving the few Americans who still have call center jobs screwed. But now, Democrats in the Senate are trying to revive the legislation with the help of Senators Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania – two states that have been hit really hard by call center job losses. As Senator Sherrod Brown said this week in defense of the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act: “When companies send call center jobs overseas, they don’t just frustrate consumers – they hurt our economy as well. With thousands of Ohioans looking for work, it just doesn’t make sense to ship these jobs overseas.” He’s right – so what can be done to make sure this legislation passes to stimulate OUR economy – instead of stimulate foreign economes with what used to be American call center jobs.
In January, nearly everyone thought the student loan interest rate was going to double — and no one could stop it. Then students stood up. They fought and they won
In 2008, Barack Obama pledged to raise the minimum wage every year once elected, but the hourly rate of $7.25 hasn’t increased since 2007. Low-wage workers now make far less than they did four decades ago. Last week Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. introduced The Catching Up to 1968 Act of 2012. It draws its name from the idea that the federal minimum wage would be $10.55 an hour now if it had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years. While the bill has about 20 co-sponsors so far President Obama has yet to endorse it. We speak to longtime consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
The Center for American Progress visited Wisconsin, one of a handful of states that have recently passed strict voter identification laws, to see how such laws disenfranchise voters
Every day, far too many gay and transgender Americans are forced out of their jobs and into the ranks of the unemployed at a time when all families are struggling to stay afloat. Until Congress passes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) it will remain perfectly legal to fire someone based simply on their sexual orientation or gender identity in a majority of states in this country.
To learn more, go to http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/domestic/justice
by VideoNewsService, posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012 at 8:55 am
The Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice Coalition held a rally in front of the Illinois State Capitol Building on Tuesday May 29th. The purpose of the rally was to point out the failure of Gov. Quinn, Speaker Madigan and the Democratic Party to lead the state toward a positive solution to the teacher pension issue. In addition, the speakers also pointed out that no one in the House or Senate are broaching the subject of the only real solution to the debt problems of the State-new revenue. The Coalition has put forward several proposals to generate the revenue needed to fund our States’ budget. They include a “graduated income tax”, a “transaction tax” on the Commodities Exchange among other solutions. For more information please contact: www.nijwj.org.
In 1976, when Trina Garnett was 14 years old, she accidentally started a housefire that ended up killing two boys. Now, thirty-five years later, Trina is fifty years old and still in prison. Why is a first-world country imprisoning its children for life? The Nation‘s Liliana Segura explains.
by Ellen McClennan, posted on Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
A group of about forty people from Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice gathered in the noon day sun outside Illinois Senator Mike Noland‘s office in Elgin on Friday, May 4th. The people wanted Senator Noland to hear their concerns about the lack of revenue and funding for Illinois teachers’ pensions. Senator Noland is one of four legislators appointed by Quinn to a task force to solve this issue. While earlier State Senator Mike Noland (D-Elgin) had informed the group he would not be present to respond to their rally, he unexpectedly showed up
John Laesch, from NIJWJ, announced the rally was about the group’s concern regarding the State’s lack of funding for teachers’ pensions, but Noland didn’t seem to understand until the end of the rally that the citizens standing before him had not been sent by the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and were instead concerned citizens and workers—about half of whom happened to be teachers.
“This is a workers’ issue. And we are concerned that our legislators have not funded our teachers’ pensions. We have a revenue problem here. This is a concern to all taxpayers and to all people who work for a living,” said Laesch.
