November 08, 2007

WGA Strike: Breaking Washington's Funny Bone

As protesting TV and film writers take to the picket lines in Los Angeles and New York, the atmosphere in Washington this week is unusually quiet. Perhaps a little too quiet.

On the surface, the Writers Guild of America strike hitting the entertainment industry would seem of little consequence in the nation's capital. But consider this: The first casualties in the WGA strike have been the late-night talk shows and comedies that constitute an unofficial system of checks and balances on Washington. Without those programs, this town is in serious danger of taking itself even more seriously than it already does.

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Posted at 3:13 PM
Posted to: Labor, Media
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October 10, 2007

UAW Calls Strike On Another Big Three Automaker

Once again, the United Auto Workers instructed tens of thousands of its members to take to the streets in protest against one of the Big Three U.S. automakers. This time, it was the failed negotiations between union leaders and Chrysler over a new labor agreement that sparked the walkout of some 40,000 workers nationwide.

The Detroit Free Press notes "it’s the second strike against a Detroit automaker in the past two-and-half weeks by the UAW," which picketed General Motors for two days before hammering out a tentative agreement, "and the first strike against Chrysler in recent history." Job security and health care remain the two main sticking points in the ongoing negotiations.

According to the Detroit News, at least four Chrysler plans are excluded from the strike, so not all of the union's 49,000 Chrysler members are picketing today.

The Detroit News has workers' reactions to the strike and the Free Press has background on the negotiations. MarketWatch and the Wall Street Journal (subscription) are also covering this story in detail.

Posted at 11:52 AM
Posted to: Economy, Labor
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June 19, 2007

Take Back America: The Kennedy Contest

Today was a real zoo at Campaign for America's Future's fifth Take Back America conference. No wonder: Barack Obama and John Edwards delivered back-to-back speeches before the activist-heavy crowd.

The Democratic presidential race's two youngest hopefuls struck many of the same chords, two of which are the major messages touted by conference leaders: grassroots activity and the moral side of the issues facing the country.

Although both candidates stumped naturally on the overarching themes of their campaigns, it was all they could do not to utter former President John F. Kennedy's infamous inaugural address line, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." (Earlier in the day, MSNBC's Chris Matthews compared Obama to Bobby Kennedy during AFSCME's presidential forum. In Edwards' TBA speech, the candidate told the audience that he grew up watching the 1968 presidential hopeful.)

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Posted at 3:03 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Campaigns, Democrats, John Edwards, Labor, WH 2008
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Take Back America: Get Going, Grassroots!

Watch out, Washington. More than 3,000 progressives have descended upon the city, and they're hungry for change.

Monday marked the beginning of the fifth annual Take Back America conference, hosted by the Campaign for America's Future and sponsored by an abundance of unions and Democratic-leaning organizations. Here are some of The Gate's thematic observations about the conference's first day; check back for more dispatches as it progresses.

• Grassroots Activism: According to Jean Ross of the United American Nurses, this year's underlying theme is the importance of the grassroots movement. Indeed, every speaker this reporter heard urged listeners to take charge. Ross thinks some in the base are disappointed that congressional Democrats have been unable to push more of their agenda through, and for that reason citizen participation in the legislative process is more important than ever.

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Posted at 11:29 AM
Posted to: Congress, Democrats, Labor, Senate, WH 2008
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