News
Judge strikes down state education aid choices as ‘irrational’
by MARK PAZNIOKAS AND KEITH M. PHANEUF
09.07.16 In a broad indictment of how Connecticut supports its poorest schools, Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher ruled Wednesday that the state's method for distributing education aid is irrational and unconstitutional, while declining to second-guess the General Assembly on the ultimate level of state spending. Moukawsher said the plaintiffs failed to meet their high burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the quality of public education violates the state Constitution by the standards o… Continue Reading
Why we must raise the minimum wage for millions of Americans
by Rep. Bobby Scott and Labor Secretary Tom Perez
09.05.16 Today, full time work year-round at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour leaves an adult with two children earning thousands of dollars below the poverty threshold. That is unacceptable. No one who works full-time should live in poverty. But the Republican-controlled Congress has refused to even consider legislation to raise the minimum wage. You may think that when a majority of Congress and the president are from different political parties they could never work together to raise the mi… Continue Reading
Promote adult literacy in RGV
by Rep. Rubén Hinojosa
09.04.16 Perhaps there is no skill more important to help Americans succeed in any industry or professional field than literacy. Proficiency in reading and writing is key to advancement, prosperity and citizenship. As September marks "National Literacy Month," we must once again do all that we can to raise awareness and focus attention on resources toward raising literacy rates. According to the National Commission on Adult Literacy, an estimated 80 to 90 million adults - about half of the adult workfor… Continue Reading
Who Benefits From Strong Unions? Everyone.
by Rep. Mark Pocan
09.02.16 As we approach Labor Day, we should all remember the words of the late, great US Senator Paul Wellstone, "We all do better when we all do better." This clearly is the mission of the labor movement. The story of unions is the story of America's middle-class. Unions have been essential in gaining safer working conditions, better wages and benefits, and empowering workers to have a seat at the table. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, union workers' wages are 27 percent gre… Continue Reading
Homeless students get more attention under new education law
by Carolyn Thompson
08.31.16 BUFFALO, N.Y. - School administrators this year are being pushed to get better at recognizing homeless students - those "hidden" in other people's homes or whose families are staying in places like campgrounds, motels and cars - and to keep them in school even if they're missing paperwork or move around. The count of homeless students enrolled in American schools, now more than 1.3 million, is nearly double what it was a decade ago. The number is expected to grow - or rather, become more accura… Continue Reading
Fair Pay, Safe Workplaces, Republican Objections
by The Editorial Board
08.26.16 As the nation's chief executive, the president gets to set standards for companies that do business with the government. In 2014, after a Senate report found that many federal contractors had been repeatedly cited for cheating, harassing and injuring their employees, President Obama ordered federal agencies to check how well companies have complied with labor laws before awarding contracts. The president gave procurement officials and federal regulators two years to write rules putting the or… Continue Reading
Getting technical: Preparing high school students for the workforce America needs
by Gabriella Gonzalez and Robert Bozick
08.24.16 For many high school graduates, pursuing a postsecondary degree may not be feasible or desirable-about 20 percent forgo college and directly enter the workforce. Given that some evidence shows career and technical education (CTE) can boost earning potential for those heading straight to the job market, ensuring access to high-quality CTE programs is critical. With strong expected growth in fields such as computers, engineering, and healthcare-which have traditionally been served by certification… Continue Reading
When suspensions weren’t working, this high school opted for a new approach
by Joe Heim
08.23.16 Donnell Honesty can't remember what the fight was about or even quite how it started. He was a junior at D.C.'s Ballou High School in 2015 when another student stepped toward him in the school's cafeteria. Within seconds, the two were trading punches. Almost as quickly as it started, the fight was broken up. Both students were led to a counselor's office, and school officials began the process of addressing the flare-up. In previous years, the penalty for an in-school fight was almost cert… Continue Reading
NPR: OSHA Injury Reporting Rule Sheds Light On Meat Packing Accidents
by Peggy Lowe
08.10.16 DAVID GREENE, HOST: The average American eats 200 pounds of meat every year. That level of consumption explains why the production lines at meatpacking plants are so fast-paced. Working those lines is one of the most dangerous factory jobs in America. In this first of two reports, Harvest Public Media's Peggy Lowe looks at life on the chain. PEGGY LOWE, BYLINE: Teresa and her husband were just starting a family here in Lincoln, Neb., when she landed a job at a pork processing plant. She came h… Continue Reading
Obamacare is helping more poor patients get to the doctor even as political battles continue
by Noam N. Levey
08.08.16 Even as the Affordable Care Act remains a political flash point, new research shows it is dramatically improving poor patients' access to medical care in states that have used the law to expand their Medicaid safety net. After just two years of expanded coverage, patients in expansion states are going to the doctor more frequently and having less trouble paying for it. At the same time, the experience in those states suggests better access will ultimately improve patients' health, as patients… Continue Reading
Unions could make a comeback — if we help them
by Michael Wasser
08.03.16 You won't hear opponents admit it, but unions are popular and have been for a while. Last year Gallup found that 58 percent of Americans approved of unions. Since Gallup first asked people about their support for unions in 1936, approval dipped below 50 percent just once - when it dropped to 48 percent at the height of the Great Recession in 2009. Anti-union advocates prefer to focus on the long-term decline of union membership in the United States, which can suggest that unions are unnecessa… Continue Reading
Fed contracts only for those who respect workplace laws
by Debbie Berkowitz
08.01.16 This week marks the second anniversary of President Obama signing his Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, which aims to ensure that the federal government does business only with responsible companies that respect our nation's labor and workplace safety laws. This sensible policy is good for law-abiding businesses, good for workers, and good for taxpayers. On the eve of its implementation, however, powerful special interests are trying to torpedo this important initiative with a misin… Continue Reading
Less paperwork, more college
by Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab
07.19.16 The last season of The West Wing aired in 2006, but one scene is still stuck in my mind. Toby Ziegler, one of the most down-to-earth characters on the show, is having a drink after a long day on the road with President Bartlett's campaign. He ends up chatting with the guy next to him at the hotel bar, a father worried about paying for college for his daughter. "It should be a little easier," he tells Toby. "Just a little easier." He's right. Paying for college is unnecessarily difficult. The… Continue Reading
Regulate Violence in Health Care, Lawmakers Tell OSHA
by Stephen Lee
07.18.16 Four leading Democrats in the House and Senate called on the federal government to regulate workplace violence in health-care settings July 18. In their letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, the signatories-Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.)-said that workers in health-care and social service settings face significant risk of injury from violence. In 2013, more than 150,000 health-care wor… Continue Reading
Home Care Workers Can Finally Claim Victory
by The Editorial Board
07.02.16 The Supreme Court ensured that millions of working people would get fairer treatment when it decided last week not to consider Home Care Association of America v. Weil. That case was the last attempt by home care employers (mostly for-profit agencies) to avoid paying home care workers (mainly women of color) the minimum wage and overtime pay. By declining to hear the case, the court has confirmed that there is no legal rationale for denying basic labor protections to home care workers, who care… Continue Reading
Soaring Child-Care Costs Squeeze Families
by Eric Morath
07.01.16 The fast-growing cost of raising children is putting extra pressure on family budgets, causing resentment to spill over in day-care parking lots and soccer fields and even into the 2016 election debate. Child care expenses alone have climbed nearly twice as fast as overall prices since the recession ended in 2009, according to Labor Department data. Along with fast-rising housing costs and lackluster wage gains, families with young children are finding themselves stretched enough to draw spec… Continue Reading
Paul Ryan’s Promised Obamacare Replacement Plan Shockingly Turns Out Not to Exist Again
by Jonathan Chait
06.16.16 The Republican Party has been on the verge of coalescing around its alternative health-care-reform plan since the health-care debate began seven years ago. The latest almost-there, just-have-to-cross-some-i's-and-dot-some-t's update came two months ago, when the New York Times reported, "if the Republican nominee does not provide an alternative to the Affordable Care Act - something Republicans have failed to do since it passed in 2010 - Mr. Ryan intends to do so." But guess what? Ryan's plan on… Continue Reading
GOP Poverty Plan Would Hurt Some of Most Vulnerable Children
by Kathleen Romig
06.15.16 The House GOP poverty plan would eliminate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for 1.3 million severely disabled children in poor families, vaguely proposing to re-orient SSI to provide services instead. Eliminating these modest but critical benefits, however, would hurt some of America's most vulnerable children and damage their prospects for future success. While vital, the services are a supplement, not a substitute, for cash assistance. What's more, many SSI children already recei… Continue Reading
Preschool Teachers Earn Less Than Tree Trimmers
by Emily Deruy
06.14.16 In the past several decades, advances in brain science have suggested that the learning that occurs in the first few years of a child's life lays the groundwork for a productive adulthood. The expansion of preschool is one of the few topics where both Republicans and Democrats in Congress find common ground; while lawmakers don't always agree on how programs should be funded or structured, the belief that good early-childhood education can help prevent later gaps in test scores and graduation ra… Continue Reading
Study: Repealing ObamaCare would increase uninsured by 24M
by Peter Sullivan
06.13.16 If ObamaCare were repealed, 24 million fewer people would have health insurance in 2021, according to a new study. The study from the Urban Institute finds that 14.5 million fewer people would have coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program and 8.8 million fewer people would have individual private coverage like that offered on the health law's marketplaces. Another 700,000 fewer people would have health insurance through their jobs. At the same time, repeal wo… Continue Reading