Tag: jobs

Categories
Domestic Policies

50th ANNIVESARY MARCH ON WASHINGTON: Saturday, August 24, 2013

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON!

Lincoln Memorial
2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW
20037 Washington, DC

Reserve your seat online NOW!

EVENT DETAILS: For folks in the New York City area.

Join the First Corinthian Baptist Church as they partner with the National Action Network to journey to DC to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.

To reserve a seat on the FCBC bus the down-payment is $10. The total cost is $50, with the final payment due August 4th.

All buses leave for Washington @3am Saturday, August 4 and leave from Washington after the rally at 4pm.

Buses will depart for Washington from FCBC, located at 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (at W 116th St) Harlem, New York.

See further details of the march here.

For questions about 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON please contact Betty Davis at ACT@fcbcnyc.org.

Category: Social Justice

All denominations invited!

Join the March on Washington to commemorate the March for Jobs and Freedom led by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. 50 years ago.

Labor Fight Back calls for jobs and freedom for all, defend and expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, respect and protect workers’ rights and restore and expand voting rights.

Fifty years ago, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. led a great March for JOBS and FREEDOM on Washington that demanded:

“A massive federal program to train and place all unemployed workers—Negro and white—on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages.

“A national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living. (Government surveys show that anything less than $2.00 [$15.23 at May 2013 prices] an hour fails to do this.)”

Shockingly, most working people are worse off today than in the 1960s:

Employment statistics today are clearly worse. Thanks to the Great Recession, the national unemployment rate still hovers at 7.6 percent; in 1963 it was 5.7 percent. But that is only part of the picture. Part-time workers who want full-time work are on the rise. And even worse, the number of those who have completely given up hope of finding a job has increased precipitously: in 1954, 96 percent of U.S. men between 25 and 54 years old worked but today that number has dropped to 80 percent. When all these sectors of unemployed or partially employed are combined and only those men who are unemployed but want work are included, the unemployment rate jumps to 16 percent.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the government instituted job programs and put millions to work. [A few days ago] President Obama announced that it is not the government’s job to create the needed number of jobs. In fact, the Obama administration has advocated a totally inadequate plan that would provide less than two million new jobs.

Compounding these dire circumstances, social safety net programs, like food stamps and unemployment compensation, including for those suffering long-term joblessness, have been cut across the board on the national, state, and local levels and will likely be cut again, especially in light of the recent decision by the House to push through a farm bill without food stamps.

Whatever recovery there has been from the Great Recession has resulted in income gains concentrated at the top. This division in economic gains is not new. It extends and reinforces the trend toward Gilded Age inequality that has been going on for four decades. In 2010, 93 percent of all new income that was created went to the wealthiest 1 percent of the population.

The attacks on African Americans and people of color have continued unabated, as witnessed by the brutal murder of Trayvon Martin and the exoneration of his killer. This on top of the June 25 Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act.

It’s high time for all victims of austerity cuts, potential victims of further cuts in the near and long-term future — particularly low-income and poor people — along with communities of color, students, environmentalists and other sectors of the population reeling from the deteriorating conditions under which we live to come together to fight collectively for our rights and achieve a new wave of social progress.March for jobs

We demand that the federal government create tens of millions of good paying jobs to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, protect the environment, and rehire laid-off teachers and other essential public workers.

source: Popular Resistance

Categories
Politics

“Robust” Economy Added 195,000 Jobs in June

U.S. employers are sending a message of confidence in the economy — hiring more workers, raising pay and making the job market appear strong enough for the Federal Reserve to slow its bond purchases as early as September.

The economy gained a robust 195,000 jobs in June and many more in April and May than previously thought. The unemployment rate remained 7.6 percent in June because more people started looking for jobs — a healthy sign — and some didn’t find them. The government doesn’t count people as unemployed unless they’re looking for work.

The Labor Department’s report Friday pointed to a U.S. job market that’s showing surprising resilience in the face of tax increases, federal spending cuts and economic weakness overseas. Employers have added an average 202,000 jobs for the past six months, up from 180,000 in the previous six.

The job growth is being fueled in part by consumer spending and the housing recovery. Consumer confidence has reached a 5½ year high and is helping drive up sales of homes and cars. Hiring was especially strong in June among retailers, hotels, restaurants, construction companies and financial services firms.

Categories
college Domestic Policies Unemployment

My Commencement Address

Now that it’s graduation season, the press can’t help but write articles like this one that discuss the terrible job market and how recent college graduates don’t feel prepared to enter the workforce.

To that I say, welcome to reality.

College is not job training; it’s academic training, and any university worth its books will operate on that premise. Graduates who think that they are now ready for the working world are living under a false assumption that’s been sold to the public for decades. High school guidance counselors, college consultants and many teachers peddle this connection as if it was always true and that the main reason one should go to college is simply to get a job. Institutions of higher education have bought into this line of illogic and are even going as far as to tailor their recruiting messages to highlight the terrific jobs their graduates have found.

What the colleges don’t tell you is whether those jobs are related to what you majored in. That is sometimes an inconvenient measure, akin to the one your high school used to keep property values in your town elevated. The school highlights the wonderful colleges its graduates attend, but does zero follow-up to see who’s staying in school, who’s graduating, and where they’re working. And all it costs is a zillion dollars, most of it in indebtedness that’s crushing the wannabe middle class.

So back to the question: Do you want job training? Find an apprenticeship or a school that focuses on technical skills. Don’t go to a pricey university and then complain that you don’t believe that you are ready for the working world.

A university degree confers upon you the affirmation that you’ve studied an academic discipline, thought about it, questioned its assumptions and come out the other side a more EDUCATED person. Along the way, perhaps you took that odd course that had nothing to do with your major or making money simply because it was interesting or the professor was exceptional or the guy/gal you liked was also signed up. A university is not a job factory, and people ignore that fact at their peril.

When I graduated in the early 80s, all full of myself for having gone to the premier Communications school in the country, I was asked the same question on every interview:

How fast can you type?

Mazel tov to all recent graduates. Your work education begins now.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

Categories
Express Yourself

What Is A Teenager To Do?

From elementary school through high school kids, have the word “college” drilled into their heads as if their own future depends on it. Teachers and principals are pressured to make their students’ grades resemble those of a Harvard Graduates. Parents try to get their kids involved in sports, after school activities, volunteer work, and even jobs to just increase their value towards colleges. The thing people seem to miss is that college is not a walk in the park. It is not meant for everyone and everyone is not meant for college.

Back when my parents attended college you had the choice of working instead of attending school, both of my parents worked for a bit then attended school. The woman who cuts my hair has never attended college and I can honestly say she seems no less happy or successful than my parents or anyone else I have met. I’ve put my hands in both the school and work corners, and neither of them have panned out at all and it makes me wonder. What is a teenager to do?

The idea of four more years of school straight after high school just didn’t sit well with me at all. I knew I was already burnt out from high school and college would be me running out of gas, hence, why I was reluctant to apply. But I didn’t know where else I was going to go. With an unhappy look on my face I started filling out applications and soon enough I began getting responses.

The first letter I received back was from Rutgers New Brunswick, Not even an afterthought to go to for college, but I just wanted to test the waters. I opened the letter and read the first line… “sorry but we cannot accept your application into Rutgers New Brunswick”.

I knew I wasn’t this outstanding student, but wow. That initial rejection hurt a lot more than I’d expected, even from a college I had no intention to go to. The next few letters were much more positive and by late December I had a handful of choices where I could get into that “college life” that movies seem to make so perfect, fun, and amazing. I decided to become a pioneer and attend William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. I stayed there for four months till I became absolutely sick of college and decided to try the road less traveled and work for a couple of years.

 

When I started my job hunt, my greatest ally – at least told by everyone in this world – would be my résumé. My resume looked like a blank piece of paper with the name “Justin Emerson” on top and my contact information. Very impressive, I know. I cannot say I didn’t try to find a job in high school but I never seemed to think I’d be so desperate to find one.

When I left college, I knew I did not want to work some dead-end 9-5 that pays me mere change. I wanted something exotic and exciting. Bartender! It had this aura of excitement around it in my mind and was something where I could be social and enjoy my job at the same time. So off to a bartending school I went. I took the course, graduated, went to their job placement, and well…here I am writing about me trying to find a job.

A new approach was needed. While a minimum wage job totally cramps my style, it seemed more reasonable than an eighteen year old bartender. I went off filling out applications and searching Craigslist and the internet for jobs. This approach met little success coupled with mostly failure. Here is a short list of places I’ve worked at or applied to:

  • Toyota dealership
  • Tesla Motors
  • Apple
  • Gamestop
  • Nike
  • Converse
  • FootLocker
  • Kohl’s
  • CottonOn
  • H&M
  • PacSun
  • Olive Garden
  • Red Lobster

One word can sum up my job hunting: discouraging.

So, as you can see neither road has really worked for me. On that note I have applied and been accepted to Bergen County College where I plan to go and transfer to a four-year college soon after. I’m not happy or excited about going back to college, but like I asked in the first paragraph. What is a teenager to do?

 

Categories
Employment Tid Bits Unemployment

How To Turn Your Rejection Letter Into Full Time Employment

Finding employment in this economy can be a daunting task. Many candidates have received numerous rejections for jobs they may very well be qualified for. So the question now is, what to do when you have received one rejection letter too many? You turn it into a job opportunity.

Below is a good idea.

From Ray RedSpider

Categories
Politics weekly address

President’s Weekly Address: Reigniting The Engine of Economic Growth – The Middle Class

The President’s weekly address can be summed up in this statement: No one in America should work full-time and raise their children in poverty. The statement is part of the address as President Obama called on Congress to do what is necessary to bring jobs back to America to “help grow and strengthen the middle class.”

Categories
Employment Politics

U.S Economy Added 157,000 Jobs In January

American employers added 157,000 jobs in January compared with a revised 196,000 jobs the previous month, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The unemployment rate was little changed at 7.9 percent, about where it has been stuck since September.

On the bright side, revised government data showed that the economy added 335,000 more jobs than originally estimated during all of 2012, including an additional 150,000 in the last quarter of the year. That was on top of the previously reported fourth-quarter job growth of 603,000 and 2012 growth of 2.2 million.

The higher revisions, in particular, encouraged traders on Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average over the 14,000-point mark for the first time since 2007.

Categories
Politics

Republicans Are Not Happy – Unemployment Rate Falls Again

The “Patriots” in the Republican party woke up to some bad news today – despite their aggressive efforts to keep the economy down, and despite their obvious attempts to sabotage the middle class, the resilience of the American people cannot be defeated and today, and Republicans learned that the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an increase in non-farm payroll employment by 146,000 and a decrease in the unemployment report to 7.7%, surpassing consensus expectations of 80,000 jobs and an uptick in the unemployment rate.

Bill McBride: “With all the uncertainty about the impact of Hurricane Sandy, this was a decent report, especially with the decline in the unemployment rate. However, negatives include the downward revisions to prior months, and the decline in the participation rate.”

Categories
Domestic Policies taxes

Cliff Notes

When I was growing up, I had a good friend named Cliff. He was smart and funny, OK, corny, and a bit nerdy, but he had a good heart and I’m sure he’s doing wonderful things with his life.

Meanwhile, his name is being dragged through the mud.

This Fiscal Cliff business is terrible for anyone named Cliff and it’s even worse that it’s hogging the headlines around the holidays with no end in sight. The media is absolutely breathless at the thought that on January 1…very little will happen. Yes, tax rates will go up and federal spending will go down, but it will take a few weeks or months for the real effect to take hold. Of course, the real impact will be on the stock market and on business spending because if there’s no deal then they’ll have to make serious decisions that could tilt us back into recession.

In the meantime, the political posturing is so bad a team of chiropractors is on 24-hour call on Pennsylvania Avenue. Maybe that stretch that has all of the homeless people sleeping under scaffolding. The president and John Boehner could do worse than to meet there just to remind themselves of what effects their actions have on the country.

What’s obvious is that the Republican Party has learned very little from last month’s election. It’s clear that the public will blame the GOP if there is no deal because, unlike the far right, most Americans have a sense of fairness that says that wealthy people need to pay more and some social programs need to be cut because that’s what we do when we have a problem in this country. We compromise. We talk to each other. We each contribute what we can to solve the issue.

The Republican establishment doesn’t understand this and it’s in President Obama’s best interest to remind people daily that the failure will fall squarely on one political party. Grover Norquist’s notorious no-tax pledge has always been a bad idea, and its effects on our system have resulted in a government that teeters between not being able to pay its bills and doing just enough with what it has to mess things up. Ronald Reagan famously said that government is the problem, then set us on a fiscal course that ensured a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Elections have consequences and fortunately, this year’s results shifted the debate away from obstructionism and towards practical solutions. Unfortunately, political change take time. The Democrats didn’t realize how much they had lost the message after 1984 and it took them at least 8 years to regroup and find the Clintonian third way. The Supreme Court robbed the country of a slow recovery from the excesses of the Gingrich revolution in 2000, and the hardened right was able to solidify its gains in 2010.

It could take until 2016 or even 2018 for the left to realize what this past election promised. Marriage equality, a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, a fairer tax code, universal health care and biting financial regulation will get pushed this term in the Congress, but real progress will be slow. The last clawing cuts of the Republican conservatives will draw blood for a while longer, to the detriment of society at large. Perhaps the next president, who will be a Democrat, can push these things over the finish line. History will remember and celebrate Barack Obama for setting the table.

So as another week dawns and we wonder what new twists the political debate will take, keep in mind that we are seeing the end of an era. It was an era of excess and stubbornness, with some necessary reforms, but ultimately as much a failed experiment of the right as the end of the 1970s was for the left. The fiscal cliff is but a symptom. The GOP will lose more than they gain because they have to if we are to move forward. My hope is with the future.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

Categories
Politics Unemployment

CBO Reports: Extending Unemployment Benefits Create Jobs

Here’s some news we already knew. The Congressional Budget Office has released a report claiming that extending long term unemployment benefits add more jobs to the economy.

Here’s the report:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Extending the current level of long-term unemployment benefits for another year would add 300,000 jobs to the economy, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.

The analysis released Wednesday from the nonpartisan office estimates that keeping jobless benefits would cost the government $30 billion. But it would also lead to more spending by the unemployed, boosting demand for goods and services and creating new jobs.

Federal long-term unemployment benefits are set to expire on Dec. 29 for more than 2 million workers unless Congress approves an extension. Democrats have called for reauthorization of extended benefits, but Republicans generally oppose more jobless aid without additional spending cuts to offset the cost.

“This report is more evidence that extending help to those who are seeking work is a better investment for our economy than extending tax breaks for those resting comfortably atop the economic ladder,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Regular jobless benefits generally last up to 26 weeks for eligible workers who lose their job and are seeking employment. Since the recession began in 2008, the federal government has offered up to 47 weeks of additional benefits.

The CBO report found that for every dollar of jobless benefits that the unemployed spend, there is a $1.10 boost to the economy.

Categories
democrats Politics

Bill Clinton Was Right – Democrats Create More Jobs Than Republicans

Clinton pointed out that under Democratic presidents since 1961, the economy has added 42 million private-sector jobs, while under Republicans it has added just 24 million. He used the same concept to argue that President Obama has outscored both congressional Republicans and his GOP presidential opponent, Mitt Romney, in terms of creating jobs.

Clinton has some intriguing facts on his side. Aside from a rounding error, his historical numbers are accurate (figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the tally under Democrats since 1961 rounds to 41 million, not 42 million). I crunched the numbers a few different ways to see if Clinton was cherry-picking the best numbers. His figures measure job gains from the month a president took office until the month he left. Since it takes a year or so for any president’s policies to go into effect, I also measured job gains from one year after each president took office till one year after he left. Here’s the score by that measure: Democrats: 38 million new jobs, Republicans, 27 million.

Clinton only mentioned private-sector jobs, so I pulled the data for all jobs, including government. Again, the Dems have a big edge, accounting for 48 million new jobs, compared with 31 million for Republicans. If you push the boundaries out one year for each president, the gap narrows to 44 million new jobs under Democrats, and 34 million under Republicans.

Categories
Politics

Watch As Flip Romney Defends President Obama’s Jobs Creation Numbers

There are some very smart people working on the UP with Chris Hayes show on MSNBC. One of them took President Obama’s actual jobs numbers and superimposed the graphic over a video of Mitt Flip Romney. Romney on the video was talking about his time as Governor of Massachusetts. He was demonstrating the jobs curve he claimed he brought to the state.

Watch the genius work of the graphic department on the Chris Hayes show.

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