This Labor Day, let’s thank all those who've kept our country going this year—nurses, teachers, delivery drivers, food service workers, and many more. We can honor them by building our system back even better—so that essential workers are treated like it, pandemic or not.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 7, 2020
Posts Tagged ‘labor
05
Jun
15
A Tweet Or Two
****
****
****
****
Thank you, President Barack Obama
https://twitter.com/TPEconomy/status/606801841897283584
****
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/606801570307670016
****
https://twitter.com/imillhiser/status/606804725393182720
****
****
****
****
31
Mar
15
President Of The People
President Barack Obama signs a Memorandum of Disapproval regarding a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of a rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to representation case procedures. The joint resolution passed by Congress is a rarely used oversight tool that allows legislators to block regulatory actions
****
****
****
****
06
Mar
15
A Tweet Or Two
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
Some days, Twitter can be magic 🙂
https://twitter.com/MARYSKINSWEAT/status/573922588050726912
****
28
Feb
15
Celebrating Black History Month
Throughout Black History Month, I’ve included tweets in ‘A Tweet Or Two’ about African-American heroes who with brains, love, strength, blood, sweat, tears, and death; built this nation to what it is today. As Black History Month draws to a close, we celebrate the known and unsung heroes who gave everything and continue to give everything to make this country live up to its promise of “all men are created equal.”
****
Because Of Them We Can
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
AFTUnion: 13 Labor Events And Organizers Who We Should Teach About During Black History Month
Lucy Parsons was a radical labor organizer born in Texas. In the early 1870s, she and her husband had to flee Texas because of intolerant reactions to their interracial marriage. Throughout her subsequent career in Chicago, she wrote for various leftist and labor publications. In 1905, she participated in the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World. In 2004, the city of Chicago named a park after her.
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
Randolph is one of the most important figures in both black history and labor history. In addition to his work with the Pullman porters (see No. 2, above) and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, he prominently pushed for civil rights during World War II. He planned a 100,000 person march on Washington during the war, which led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign an executive order ending discrimination in defense industries. After the order was signed, the march was canceled.
****
****
****
****
****
In the late 1860s, George Pullman hired former slaves to work on his railroad sleeping cars. He exploited their labor, with each porter making the equivalent of about $22,000 a year (in today’s dollars) while working under unfair conditions, including 100-hour workweeks. These workers formed a union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; in 1925, it became the first African-American labor union to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor.
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
Rosina Tucker was an important figure in the foundation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Tucker was married to a railroad porter and became involved in the union. She visited the homes of over 300 workers to secretly collect their union dues, and in 1938 she was elected secretary-treasurer of the union’s auxiliary. She continued her union involvement, helping organize teachers, laundry workers and railway clerks in Washington, D.C.
****
****
****
In the 1920s, the Chicago Flat Janitors were an integrated local union, which was considered radical at the time. The union worked to include black members in leadership roles, including its vice president, Seymour Miller. The union eventually grew and today is known as the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU.
****
https://twitter.com/AntoniosTweet/status/568917802943434753
****
****
Josh Zumbrun: Job Openings At 14-Year High As Hiring Returns To Pre-Recession Levels
For the first time since January 2001, the U.S. had more than five million job openings at the end of December, a sign of a labor environment shifting in favor of workers. December was also the best month for hiring since before the recession struck more than seven years ago. More than 5.1 million people were hired in December, the most since November 2007, according to the Labor Department‘s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS.
The report adds to signs that the labor market is strengthening considerably. The Labor Department’s main jobs report, released on February 6, showed that November, December and January comprised the best three-month stretch of hiring since 1997, raising hope that the U.S economy will start delivering stronger wage growth for a wider swath of Americans after more than five years of sluggish recovery from a deep recession.
More here
****
President Barack Obama signs the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; a job-training legislation which aims to help job seekers gain valuable employment skills, as guests and members of Congress look on at the White House
• • •
Text of the President and Vice President’s remarks here
• • •
• • •
In other important news today…
President Barack Obama meets with Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission
• • •
****
• • •
President Barack Obama gives an economic policy speech at the Lake Harriet Bandshell
****
****
****
****
The Erler family listens to President Barack Obama talk about the economy while at the Lake Harriet Band Shell
****
The National Memo: Obama Brings Middle-Class Message To Minnesota
President Barack Obama began a two-day visit to Minneapolis on Thursday sharing cheeseburgers with a local working mother and bringing a middle-class message tailor made to aid Democrats fearful of massive losses in the upcoming election. Obama said he shares the frustrations of people who went to college, work hard, and still struggle to buy homes, pay for child care, and dig out from student loan debt. “You are the reason I ran for office,” he told a crowd of about 350 people gathered for a town hall forum near Minnehaha Falls. In his early life, he said, “I was you guys … You are the ones I am thinking about every single day.”
Obama talked about progress his administration has made curbing greenhouse gases and making college more affordable, but devoted much of his time to touting the need for a higher minimum wage and equal pay and benefits for women. Those issues resonate strongly in Minnesota, where Gov. Mark Dayton (D) and a Democratic-controlled Legislature enacted the largest minimum wage increase in state history this year and approved a menu of economic protections for women in the workplace. “The idea that they would not be paid the same or not have the same opportunities … is infuriating,” Obama said of female workers. “If you are doing the same job, you should get the same salary. Period. Full stop.”
More here
****
Pete Souza: President Obama waves to the crowd after speaking at Lake Harriot Band Shell in Minneapolis
****
****
****
****
****
****
Pete Souza: President Obama greets people in the crowd following his speech at Lake Harriot Band Shell in Minneapolis
President Barack Obama greets audience members after he delivers remarks on the economy, at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis, Minn. (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama walks on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington from Minneapolis
President Barack Obama holds 6-month-old Olivia Hughes, granddaughter of ABC News reporter Ann Compton, on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington from Minneapolis
President Barack Obama waves as he and daughter Sasha walk out of BLT Steak after eating dinner
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for the Marine Barracks Evening Parade
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, are escorted to their seats by Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos and his wife Bonnie Amos
President Obama pets Sgt. Chesty XIV at the Marine Barracks Evening Parade
****
President Obama stands for the national anthem during the Marine Barracks Evening Parade
President Barack Obama signs a Presidential Memorandum directing Labor Secretary Tom Perez to modernize overtime protections. He is bypassing Congress and ordering changes in overtime rules so employers would required to pay millions more for extra time they put in on the job.
****
****
03
Sep
13
Rise and Shine
****
The Week Ahead (All Times Eastern):
Today:
9:45 AM: President Obama and VP Biden meet with members of Congress
8:30 PM: President Obama departs the White House en route Stockholm, Swede
Wednesday: The President will arrive in Stockholm. While there, he will hold a bilateral meeting and joint press conference with Prime Minister Reinfeldt. He will then participate in an event honoring Raoul Wallenberg at the Great Synagogue in Stockholm and tour an expo featuring clean energy innovations at the Royal Institute of Technology. In the evening, he will take part in a dinner with Nordic Leaders.
Thursday: The President will hold a bilateral meeting with the King and Queen of Sweden. He will then depart Stockholm en route Saint Petersburg, Russia where he will attend the G-20 Summit.
Friday: Attends the G-20 Summit. Returns to Washington, DC on Friday evening.
****
****
ABC: Obama to Include LGBT Activists in Russia Meetings
President Obama will include members of Russian LGBT groups among the NGO leaders, democracy activists and human rights advocates he meets later this week when he is in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the G-20 summit, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.
It’s typical for visiting U.S. officials, including the president, to meet with civil society members here in Russia, something that always irks the Kremlin. But this appears to be the first time LGBT groups have been included in a presidential-level meeting.
…. It comes after a summer of international outrage over Russia’s new gay “propaganda” law, which outlaws even discussing homosexuality around minors. Violators could be fined and jailed. Foreigners face similar penalties plus deportation.
During an appearance on Jay Leno’s show last month, Obama was asked about the law and said he has “no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.”
More here
****
****
USA Today: Obama’s day: Lobbying Congress, leaving for Europe
President Obama spends a big part of a busy Tuesday making his case for a military strike on Syria, speaking with invited members of Congress at the White House.
The White House did not release a guest list, but it is expected to include members of military and national security committees, as well as congressional leaders.
….. Obama’s lobbying effort goes global later in the week.
On Tuesday night, the president departs for Stockholm, Sweden. After a brief stop there, he heads to St. Petersburg, Russia, for the G-20 summit, where Syria is likely to be a dominant topic.
Full post
****
****
Rick Ungar (Forbes): Media Outlets Spitting Mad At Obama For Spoiling Their Plans To Cash In On War
Following the President’ surprise announcement that he would seek the advice and consent of Congress before launching an attack on Syria, it seemed that no matter where you landed on the cable news dial everyone was in a state of upset.
With visions of TV screens filled with ‘shock and awe’ dancing in their heads along with the blessed promise of the ratings that follow the hysteria of war—not to mention a sublime ending to the slow news agony of August that dogs all news show production staffs, writers and broadcasters (trust me,I know)—Obama had held out the football for Charlie Brown to kick and then pulled it away at the last minute.
And the media was pissed.
…. And then there were the pundits appearing on networks representing all sides of the political spectrum — including those who claim to play it ‘down the middle’ — who took to the airwaves to angrily argue that the President’s backing off an attack pending Congressional approval would weaken America in the eyes of the world.
Really?
More here
****
****
Washington Post: Where The Votes Stand On Syria:
See here for details
****
Charles Pierce: Joe Lieberman – Just Shut Up
Let me be more precise. Just shut your fking piehole. Forever. You useless walking, bloodstained pile of casual death.
…. Let us be clear. There is no blazing, murderous maw into which Joe Lieberman would not be willing to feed someone else’s child ….. The man could care less about the dead. He’d feed on them himself, if he could.
Fk him with a Hellfire.
Now that my throat’s clear, let’s start the day.
Full post here
****
President Obama is working on bigger change than the purists can even contemplate http://t.co/zSoMLUtDEO
— Smartypants (@Smartypants32) September 2, 2013
****
The People’s View: The Most Worker Friendly President Since FDR
…. The working folk of America needed a champion – we needed a fierce advocate, if you will. And we elected one in 2008. If by some miracle of happenstance, President Obama didn’t have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition, even from “liberals” in the media, it would be patently obvious to everyone that the man presently occupying the Oval Office is the most worker-friendly president since Franklin Roosevelt. Barack Obama is a president who has more than kept his word to always make the best decision for people who work for a living.
…. a look at basically all of the president’s domestic policy – from bills that became law to bills that were blocked by Republicans, from legislation to administrative rulemaking – has been focused on one thing and one thing alone: helping America’s workers regain a footing in this economy. His job has not been easy, to put a severely mild point on it. But if on this labor day, we’re looking for a best friend of the American worker in government, the man behind the presidential seal is a pretty good pick.
Full post here
****
Some reactions of Snowden-philes are so ignorant of realities of foreign policy, it’s horrifyng, How can they care so much & know so little?
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) September 3, 2013
****
Tom Kludt: Obama Discusses Syria With Japan PM
President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday discussed the purported chemical weapons attack in Syria.
According to a White House readout of the phone call, both leaders “agreed that the use of chemical weapons is a serious violation of international norms and cannot be tolerated” while pledging to stay in close consultation on a potential response against the Assad regime in Syria.
More here
****
****
Jerusalem Post: Obama Offers Rosh Hashanah Greetings In Conference Call With Rabbis
US President Obama reflected on the High Holidays and offered New Year’s greetings in a conference call with nearly 1,000 rabbis.
Obama in the call on Friday afternoon extended the greetings on behalf of himself and the first lady for a sweet, happy and healthy New Year….
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins on Wednesday evening.
More here
****
****
Think Progress: Eleven Other Things American Workers Deserve (Besides A Day Off)
Labor Day is meant to celebrate the accomplishments of the American worker, who spends most days on an oil rig or in an office, on the assembly line or on the docks, making the American economy run. The holiday originated in 1894, after two dozen people were killed during the Pullman Strike, a railway workers’ boycott of low wages and high rent. From there, it became an American tradition, meant to honor the accomplishments of the people who make this nation run.
The battle is not yet won. Unions are on the decline, while income inequality is on the rise. Women still aren’t earning what men make. And many employees still aren’t free from discrimination at their jobs. Here are just eleven of the fights we’re still fighting for the American worker
More here
****
****
Caitlin McDevitt: Robert De Niro On Obama: He’s Trying His Best
Actor Robert De Niro defends President Barack Obama as a “good person” who’s “trying his best” for the country in the in the fall issue of Du Jour magazine:
Working as an actor his entire life means that De Niro sees everything through that lens. In describing his steadfast support for Barack Obama, he compares the president’s challenges to a filmmaker’s. “He’s a good person, period,” he says. “He’s trying his best. He’s going to do things that people feel are not right or violating one right or another. But at the end of the day, he represents, I think, the best of the type of people that I would like to see running the government. He has to play that game, the political game. They all do. They make statements they can’t honor because they’re impossible to honor. Once you get into that Washington machinery, you’ve just got to figure it out and swim against the current and grab onto this rock and that, and just try to maintain your course.”
“You know, it’s one thing to be a critic,” he continues. “It’s another thing to be directly involved. It’s like directing a movie and you edit the film and then someone will give you a suggestion: ‘You could do this, you could do that.’ You look and you say, ‘Yeah, but the reason I can’t do that is because I don’t have that shot, and if I use this shot that’s better here, it impacts on this one and it’s a story point.’ In other words, it can’t be done. You have to make these choices with the government, and you’re going to be criticized. If you took the time to explain it all to the public, they’d say, ‘OK, I get it.’ Can you explain to everybody? No. You just have to say, ‘I made this choice because I felt it was the right choice.’”
More here
****
****
The Obama Diary 
You must be logged in to post a comment.