unions

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<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; So proclaimed Vice President Joe Biden at a recent speech in Ohio. He’s right. And with unemployment stuck above 9 percent, the need for strong unions has never been greater.</p>

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<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; In the cut-throat property services industry, building contracts turn over quickly.&nbsp; A janitor like Maria Trujillo might find out at the end of her shift in the hospital where she works that the contractor that employs her has been replaced—something that’s happened to her three times in six years.</p>

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<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; In America, anybody who works for a living should be able to afford to retire.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; That’s why shunting newly hired and/or existing civil servants into defined contribution or 401(k)-style plans to save taxpayers money, as a new report by the Kellogg School of Management and the Simon School of Business suggests doing, is a bad idea.</p>

<p><strong>New America Media</strong></p>
<p><strong>SAN FRANCISCO</strong> — Maria Tupas worked for an elderly woman in Hercules, Calif. who told her she would have to be on duty 24/7.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maria Fernandez, provided in-home care for a disabled woman in the Bay Area, but said she was never given any breaks and never allowed to step out of the house.</p>

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<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; In California, local governments are required to study how new development impacts the surrounding environment, and rightly so. Before buildings are put up, the public deserves to know if there will be more traffic impacts, if it will harm wildlife or if there’s a possibility that nearby creeks or beaches will be polluted as a result.</p>

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<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The growth of cross-border solidarity today is taking place at a time when U.S. penetration of Mexico is growing – economically, politically, and even militarily. While the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico has its own special characteristics, it is also part of a global system of production, distribution and consumption. It is not just a bilateral relationship.</p>

<p><strong>New America Media</strong></p>
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<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Let’s forget about the fact that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker actually inherited a surplus when he took office as governor of Wisconsin. Let’s forget that he got rid of that surplus by giving tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy. And forget for the moment that he is essentially manufacturing this “crisis” in Wisconsin just to stick it to the unions.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Forget all of that for now.</p>

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<p>More than 31 million Americans have been idled to some degree by this Grave Recession. That number is shockingly high. But when you’re out of work, it’s easy to feel alone. And it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that millions of Americans share the strains of unemployment: the sleepless nights worrying about the bills, the dreary days surfing job listings and countless weekends shopping for cheap eats.</p>