District of Columbia
updated
10:09 a.m.
From the Goddamn Cobras, who brought you the Brooklyn Brat Pack, and the excellent Pearl and the Beard: Pearl and the Beard – Will Smith Medley from Goddamn Cobras Collective on Vimeo. ...
Notes from the Lounge - Fri 11:25 p.m.
Cross-posted from Sum of Change Today I dropped in on the health care rally in DC. Everyone who's anyone was there (not literally, but it certainly felt that way when I was there). Howard Dean was there. We got to ask him if he thinks the Democratic leadership is prepared to move forward without Republicans and if he agrees with the statement that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer made ...
DailyKos (DC) - Tue 12:47 p.m. - 3 clicks 
Whether you were just a naysayer or someone who actually still works in the central office and doubted the validity of The Washington Teacher's weekend report, please be advised that DCPS has officially confirmed that the central office firings did take place as I reported. Please read Bill Turque's excerpt in the DC Schools Insider below. If you have read this blog more than once, you wi...
The Washington Teacher - Mon 7:44 p.m. - 4 clicks
Sane conservatives seem to have joined the backlash against the loathsome smear campaign recently unleashed on Justice Department lawyers who have done pro bono work representing Guantanamo detainees. They argue, rightly, that we shouldn’t denigrate “the American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients.” But I think there’s an important historical point he...
Notes from the Lounge - Mon 7:08 p.m.
The other shoe has dropped in D.C. Catholic Charities ongoing battle with the D.C. Council over gay marriage. Charities has dropped new spouses from health care coverage in order to avoid covering gay spouses, effective last Monday. ...
DailyKos (DC) - Mon 3:02 p.m. - 3 clicks
It's been a very long time since I was able to hold my nose, turn off my brain and watch the Sunday morning talk shows. I know, it's not just me, but with Health Care, the economy and jobs the arguably top stories of the day, this Sunday hosts folks like Disgraced Former Majority Whip Tom DeLay (isn't he still awaiting trial or did he plead out?), Orrin Hatch (when was the last original thought ...
Women Unions - Sat 4:43 p.m. - 2 clicks
UPDATE: A second inside source confirms the central office terminations. Please read below. Given that my sources are usually pretty reliable, it wouldn't be surprising if Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired even more DC public schools staff last week. An anonymous source emailed me that over 20 employees were laid off last Friday from the central office and that even more termin...
The Washington Teacher - Sat 12:05 p.m. - 9 clicks
I've been so busy with life. I changed jobs and started taking classes for a Master's degree, and that doesn't even mention the single mom thing and how my kid graduated from High School last month and is hoping now to get into a study abroad program called NSLI-Y . See how busy, look at that run-on sentence I just wrote! So, anyway, this is where I get to the title. I've been planning a graduat...
Women Unions - Mar 5 - 2 clicks
Bill Turque in his DC Schools Insider blog further examined Rhee's now infamous comments to Fast Co. magazine that she "got rid of teachers who had hit children, who had sex with children." Since it is likely that Turque's examination of this story won't make the mainstream press- I decided to post it here. Lanier: Only 1 teacher arrested for abuse "D.C. Police Chie...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 5 - 3 clicks
I’ve got a longish piece over at The American Prospect that looks at how the Obama administration worked to kill the National Security Letter reforms that Obama once campaigned on—and even borrowed a page from Bush by retroactively reinterpreting the law to excuse systematic illegal surveillance. ...
Notes from the Lounge - Mar 3 - 3 clicks
A DCPS special education teacher at Maury Elementary School calls it quits. Lately, I have received a number of emails and text messages from teachers and colleagues about how many DC public schools teachers are voluntarily calling it quits. Teachers that I have spoken to admit that some of their reasons for leaving are due to the IMPACT evaluation which was rolled out this ...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 28 - 7 clicks
The DC Schools Insider blog features a story about DCPS lining up support for the upcoming Council annual performance oversight hearing on March 15. Turque who writes for the Insider blog wrote "Testimony at these events tends to become an open-ended infomercial for those unhappy with Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. So Peggy O'Brien, Rhee's family and public engagement chief, is reaching out ...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 26 - 3 clicks
In a recent New Yorker piece bemoaning standard Beltway coverage of politics as all maneuvering and image management, George Packer imagined the same style applied to foreign coverage—intending to highlight how absurd it seems: Speaking at the presidential palace in Kabul, Mr. Karzai showed himself to be at the top of his game. He skillfully co-opted [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Feb 26
When it’s a carefully-worded statement from Lindy Matsko, the vice principal implicated in the Pennsylvania school webcam spying lawsuit: “At no time have I ever monitored a student via a laptop webcam,” said Matsko, who is in her 25th year working for Lower Merion School District, “nor have I ever authorized the monitoring of a student [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Feb 24 - 5 clicks
Here is a guest column by Efavorite in which she analyzes Michelle Rhee's spreadsheet which was sent to Chairman Vincent Gray at his request. As Efavorite notes, this spreadsheet was created by Rhee after she was called on the carpet by Gray. This is an excellent analysis and a must read for everyone. Two thumbs up to Efavorite! "Looking at the spreadsheet Chancellor Rhee provided t...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 23 - 3 clicks
Update: Principal Patrick Pope wrote the following email to me: Dear Ms. Peterson, "While I was flattered at the adjective "revered", it was with some confusion that I have read that sources state that I am planning to leave DCPS this summer. It is simply speculation and not true. Please keep up the great work of keeping us all on our toes. But if you want to check out my status...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 21 - 5 clicks
We Can Do Better Washington City Paper writer, Mike DeBonis who features a column known as 'Loose Lips' reports this week on the Washington Teachers' Union upcoming 2010 election. Nathan Saunders', WTU General V.P's campaign for the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) top slot as union president is spotlighted in this article. DeBonis speculates in his coverage that 'yours truly' w...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 17 - 5 clicks
Take this online quiz, and test your knowledge about the effects of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Feb 17
A surprising number of the responses to my recent video on social remix complain that the various videos of kids acting out their own versions of the Lisztomania “Brat Pack” mashup video simply don’t count as a form of creativity. To be sure, they are not timeless works of starting originality, but this sort of [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Feb 16 - 2 clicks
While the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) office was opened Friday for business- no WTU Executive Board meeting was scheduled this second Saturday of the month as required. Not only was a meeting not scheduled by President George Parker- there was 'NO NOTICE ' of our regularly scheduled meeting this time, not even a notice that there would be a cancellation. I checked with three other WTU E...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 13
How did your professional development day shape up ? No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) emphasis on accountability and demands for a high quality teacher in every classroom has spawned an industry of professional development opportunities. Although DC schools had been closed most of this week due to unprecedented snow accumulations - this Friday school opened on time @ 8 a.m. ( u...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 12 - 3 clicks
This HuffPo piece strikes me as just about right. Look, I don’t think Sarah Palin is terribly bright, but even I assume that if she can deliver a speech without notes, she can remember four or five bullet-point “priorities” without recourse to a list scrawled on her hand. If, for some reason, she couldn’t, I [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Feb 10
DC Public Schools closed Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010. DC Public Schools closed Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. At this time, administrative offices will open on time. However, administrative employees should continue to check the DCPS website and email for additional updates as the weather progresses this evening and during the early morning hours. Happy Shoveling ! Posted by The Washing...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 9
Imagine DC students walking through these untouched sidewalks and streets ? UPDATE: DC Schools closed Tuesday. Guess parents complaints made an impact as well as all those yet to be plowed DC streets . Posted by The Washington Teacher featuring Candi Peterson, blogger in residence (picture # 1 courtesy of Wash. P...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 8
Rhonda Roads said it best in 'the mail', an on-line magazine publication by Gary Imhoff about Chancellor Rhee's decision to initially open DC schools on a 2-hour delay. After many parents complained to the Mayor and TV news stations did this administration decide to reverse their decision later. Here's what Roads sent to Chancellor Rhee: "An E-mail to Chancellor Michelle Rhee: A...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 8
A new video from Planned Parenthood with some unusual suspects speaking out for women's reproductive rights. Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Feb 3 - 4 clicks
Ok, so, I get both the legal and the substantive beefs people have with Citizens United. I’m basically a “political speech? well, bugger off” sort of guy, so all this business about whether corporations are +3 paladins or whatever just doesn’t interest me, but I understand the arguments. Bracketing all that, though, if you really [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Feb 2
Sonny Bunch over at America’s Future Foundation gets all wound up over the idea that copyright is centrally about creating an instrumental incentive for production: Yes, copyright was created in part because there were concerns that authors wouldn’t bother creating new work if they were consistently stolen from, leading to Yglesias’s oddly solipsistic reading of intellectual [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Feb 2 - 3 clicks
UPDATED: Wash. Post writer Bill Turque Confirms The Wash. Teacher's blog story: (click on link) " DCPS has confirmed Candi Peterson's weekend report in The Washington Teacher that Spingarn High School principal Blanca Reyes was replaced on Friday. No word yet on who will replace Washington. Lloyd Bryant will be the new assistant principal . " U...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 30 - 2 clicks
No WTU Representative Assembly Meeting For You ! On Tuesday, January 26- Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) Building Representatives went to a WTU representative assembly meeting only to find that our union meeting had been cancelled on several hours notice by WTU President George Parker. With gas at almost $3.00 per gallon- McKinley Senior High School is a long way to commute only to find ...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 29 - 4 clicks
As told by Guy Brandenburg, retired DCPS teacher. I couldn't have said it any better. Check out Guy's blog when you get a chance @ http://gfbrandenburg.wordpress.com/ More slander, lies, and spin from Michelle Rhee by Guy Brandenburg "After strongly implying that the reason that she fired 266 teachers was that they were sexual perverts, sadists towards children, and never came ...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 28
On January 27, 2010 DC Council member Marion Barry and other council members held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. to call upon Chairman Gray to conduct a hearing immediately into Chancellor Rhee’s claims against fired DCPS teachers, to express outrage over Chancellor Rhee’s recent comments e.g. “had sex with children” hit them or had unapproved excessive absences and to demand that Chancellor R...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 27
This just in. NBC Channel 4 is hunting down Chancellor Michelle Rhee to get her statement about the remarks that she made about DC teachers molesting students, abusing students and abusing their leave. Please check them out tonight on channel 4 @ 5 and 6 pm. RHEE'S REMARKS DC Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee still hasn't explained her comments to a magazine that some of the teachers fire...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 25 - 3 clicks
You Gotta Be Kidding Me I received this email alert today which is worth reading and was also posted on The WaPo online site by Efavorite . (click on Efavorite to see the comment). The suggestion that Chancellor Michelle Rhee should even be considered for Person of the year is unbelievable in light of her recent statements to Fast Company magazine in which she state...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 24
As many of you may not know Mike Debonis , writer for the Washington City Paper tipped us off in his Thursday 'Loose Lips' column about Chancellor Michelle Rhee's quote on RIF'ed teachers which appeared in Fast Company magazine. I read Loose Lips weekly because Mike is a good source for local news here in Washington, DC. He often quotes The Washington Teacher education blog and gives upda...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 23 - 6 clicks
Rhee-Gate..... the plot thickens In Fast Company's February magazine issue, Chancellor Rhee is quoted as saying that DC teachers were laid off because they hit children, had sex with children and missed 78 days of work. I am starting to get a 'brain cramp' from all of Rhee's variations of the truth about the real reason why DC teachers were laid off on November 2, 2009. Hmmmm it l...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 21 - 2 clicks
Last Saturday, 120 people gathered together at the invitation of Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) General Vice President Nathan A. Saunders to celebrate his graduation from the National Labor College in Baltimore, Maryland. What was significant about this event was that Nathan announced that he would run for the WTU President seat when elections are held in May 2010. With a campaign slogan of...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
I gave to Oxfam during the Tsunami and I gave to the humane society for Katrina (mostly because I couldn't bring myself to give to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, and if I couldn't give to the humans, I had to give to the animals). This morning, I gave to ShelterBox . It wasn't much, but I figure, if I gave $$ and I can inspire 5 more folks to give $$ even just a dollar, and then they insp...
Women Unions - Jan 14
Not surprisingly, that a quorum COULD NOT BE established again at Saturday's WTU Executive Board meeting on January 9, 2010. Here's the names of WTU Executive Board members MIA (missing in action ) : Joyce Armoo, Secretary Deborah Hines Jackie Hines (Board of Trustees) Andre' Taylor Lorraine Smith Rashida Youn g Given that...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 10 - 3 clicks
Much to my own discomfort, I forced myself to watch a clip of Anderson Cooper 360. Gag me with a spoon. Here's the video clip link. Just more of the same of Rhee on her soap box with unedited teacher bashing . Many who watched Michelle Rhee on Cooper's Thursday evening show were infuriated about the production of 'What's Next -Education ?' If you were watching, the answer to that question i...
The Washington Teacher - Jan 8 - 2 clicks
We're very pleased to be co-sponsoring the online labor film database together with the DC Labor Film Fest. This extraordinary resource includes no fewer than 1,465 union films and videos. I think it's a fantastic resource for trade unionists everywhere and we should all be grateful to Chris Garlock and the Washington DC Metro Labor Council for putting this together. If you have videos to sugg...
Women Unions - Jan 4 - 4 clicks
Women’s Policy, Inc. has produced an excellent summary of legislative action affecting women and their families in the first session of the 111th Congress (2009). Read this wonderful recap for the latest substantive legislation action on the following issues: Adoption Appropriations Breast Cancer Federal budget Child Support Children’s Health Insurance Domestic violence Early childhood e...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 31
Crossposted on UnionReview When I heard South Carolina Republican Senator say that Collective Bargaining threatens US security, I thought I'd actually fall off my chair. We cannot allow them by unanimous consent, to move ahead with the unionization and collective bargaining of our Airport Security. And there it was, coming out of the mouth of a sitting US Senator, working Americans are a h...
Women Unions - Dec 31 - 2 clicks
Hilarious video reminds everyone to back your birth control! Why? Because New Year's is the biggest night of the year for birth control accidents, and you shouldn't drop the ball ! Thanks to our friends at the Back Up Your Birth Control Campaign . Oh, and don't forget to send your girlfrieds a funny after-eve message , reminding them that emergency contraception is available if they became a ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 28
From the wonderful folks at People for the American Way. Visit their site and see nifty charts illustrating the alarming trend below. If it has seemed that Republican Senators have been expending tremendous amounts of energy for the sole purpose of slowing down the work of the Senate and the President’s reform agenda, that’s because they have. A review of cloture attempts in past sessions...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 24 - 3 clicks
Click here to watch Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) tour de force on health care. You can also read the statement of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 22
Are you a fan of the multi-colored marshmallow Peeps? Well, if you are, you'll love the latest store to hit DC's National Harbor -- the first ever brick and mortar Peeps and Company store. There are more than 850 incarnations of the sticky candy in the new venture, from the standard yellow to chocolate covered, as well as novelties based on the Peeps such as spun glass Peeps. My favorite, though, ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 10 - 5 clicks
I'm planning a trip for this April for my parents and for my kid who is graduating from High School. Ugh, I'm so old!! So, I open my e-mail and what do I see? American Airlines Winter Flight Deals! Book now and save on travel into 2010! Great destinations like Chicago, Las Vegas, New Orleans and more are on sale with fares starting as low as $58 each way. Hurry, purchase your tickets by N...
Women Unions - Nov 17
It's my understanding that Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Bob Casey (D-PA) are considering proposing an amendment to the Senate's healthcare reform bill that would resemble the disastrous anti-choice Stupak-Pitts Amendment that passed in the House bill. The strategy to defeat this middle class abortion ban must have several prongs. First, we must convince Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), an...
The Zaftig Redhead - Nov 12
Don't look now, but embattled Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) has moved out of the Family's C Street, DC enclave. Apparently he did not want to bring more attention on the Family and the C Street frat house while his ethics investigation on the horizon -- you know, where they look into whether he and his parents paid off his staffer mistress, her staffer husband, and their son. Yeah, that ethics investiga...
The Zaftig Redhead - Nov 10
House Democrats bowed to pressure from anti-abortion rights Democrats and the Council of Catholic Bishops early this morning and agreed to let the Stupak amendment be offered to their healthcare bill. This anti-choice amendment will ban the public plan from covering abortions and prohibit insurance companies who participate in the new exchanges from offering abortion coverage. Here is the target...
The Zaftig Redhead - Nov 7
Click on the image below to walk through an interactive "choose-your-own-adventure" style program to learn how H.R.3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, will affect you and your family. The House will be voting this weekend, so it's not too late to call and make your voice heard. Simply call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202/224-3121 and ask for your representative's office. If your ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Nov 6
The F-22 Raptor is a virtually useless paperweight of a fighter jet that can't communicate with any other American aircraft and melts in the rain. Oh yeah, they also cost $356 million EACH, and are made in 44 different states in an effort to make it program too big to fail to politicians worried about losing jobs in their districts. Well, it took a fight, but the Raptor is no more. The program i...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 29 - 2 clicks
Sen. Joe Lieberman (Whatever-CT) has announced his plans to join Republicans in filibustering a public option -- and a weak ass one at that -- in the Senate Democratic health insurance reform bill. Way to go, Joe, for showing everyone what a wanker you really are. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) let Lieberman keep his chairmanship and caucus with the Democrats because he "trusted Joe." Just another mista...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 28 - 4 clicks
Crossposted on UnionReview Over the hot and steamy summer month of August, I was able to tour the most amazing factory, a Steel mill. Campaign for Ameirca's Future and the Alliance for American Manufacturing arranged for this amazing tour of the Edgar Thomson mill (Mon Valley Works) US Steel mill. I walked, coughing and wheezing, my way up what they said were 5 flights of stairs in about 50...
Women Unions - Oct 22
By all accounts, little Alex Lange is a healthy and happy 4-month-old baby boy. He's in the 99th percentile for height and weight for infants his age, and growing faster than a weed. This last bit is a key point because, you see, health insurers won't cover babies above the 95th percentile -- no matter how healthy they might seem. The sad truth is that in the impersonal actuarial tables of profit-...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 12
Freshman Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) made waves a week or so ago by characterizing the Republicans health care plan as the "hope you die quickly" plan. House Republicans demanded that he apologize, and not only did he not cave in, Rep. Grayson has picked up the gauntlet and smacked the Republicans upside the head. Just Thursday, Rep. Grayson, now also an Internet sensation, made another floor stateme...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 10
A message from President Barack Obama: Friend -- This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 9
On Thursday, on the Senate floor, Republicans blocked millions of Americans from continuing to receive unemployment benefits. With states experiencing record unemployment numbers, slowing down unemployment benefits when Americans need it most is inexcusable. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), on behalf of Republicans, objected to Extending Unemployment Benefits. Kyl said, “I have no doubt that at the appropria...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 9
Much attention has been paid to the House and its accomplishments, and its historic first-ever woman Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). But to my mind, the House is in generally good shape -- except for some pesky Blue Dogs,of course. For those of you looking for more progressive changes -- health insurance reform, energy bills, immigration reform, improving No Child Left Behind, pay equity advances ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 6
Attorney General Eric Holder, Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden and Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli discuss the mission and history of The Department of Justice. They have a tough task ahead of them to clean up the mess the Bush Administration left behind, and restore the nation's faith in the Department of Justice. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 5
Blog reposted in part, with permission from author Doree Shafrir . Originally posted on Jezebel . A couple weeks ago on Mad Men, Peggy got recruited to go to another, much larger ad agency. Instead of saying yes right away, she went into Don Draper's office to see if she could get a raise. She's a copywriter, but she gets paid much less than the other copywriters, all of whom happen to ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 2
The Boss is 60. Can you believe it? And to celebrate there is a fab new exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland . That's cool. More jarring is the AARP cover featuring Springsteen, but hey -- he's a baby boomer too. Anyway, Happy Birthday, Mr. Springsteen. Long may you rock. Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 1
ENDA is The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees. Currently, it is legal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation in 29 states and in 38 states based ...
Women Unions - Sep 23
Crossposted on dailykos When Michael Jackson died, I didn't really notice. He didn't move me; didn't change my life; he didn't make me get to my feet and find reason in it. Michael Jackson was a great entertainer. But he was no Crystal Lee Sutton . He never took on management to bring a better life to her, her family and her co-workers. Crystal Lee Sutton, took a stand and paid a heavy pric...
Women Unions - Sep 12
Alternative title: Dicke E Dauch, More Evil Day by Day Welcome to the world that has become the United States Labor market. It's filled with companies that pay CEO's hundreds of thousands of dollars and into the multimillions of dollars. From the American Red Cross' Multi-Billion dollar Blood Business to Wal-Mart's sticking it to folks like Debbie Shank (and yes, they were well within the...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 2 clicks
Employee Free Choice Act. I kind of hate the title. I never really understand the term Free Choice when just about anyone uses it. It's not like I'm not bright, I am. I'm articulate too, wahoo for me. But the concept of a "Free Choice" always escapes me. I suppose my issue is with the seemingly obvious concept of "free" in "Free Choice." It's the concept that you can make a decision about your...
Women Unions - Sep 11
I don't normally copy things from Newspapers. Newspapers have it hard enough these days just surviving, but this was just too good to not share. It appears to be a letter to the editor or some kind of "guest" column in the Anchorage Daily News Millions of mothers are uninsured, even though a majority of them work, sometimes more than one job. It's wrong when many of the mothers who raise Amer...
Women Unions - Sep 11
USA9 is reporting that Prince George's county is replacing paid professional firefighters with volunteer firefighters. I'm all for Volunteer firefighters in areas where there usually isn't much of a choice, like the township I grew up in back in Ohio. Because of a variety of reasons, my township had a volunteer fire and rescue squad, but it was never staffed 100% of the time. There weren't enou...
Women Unions - Sep 11
45% of the US blood supply comes from the American Red Cross. 45%, that's a huge amount from a single source. Blood is collected through donor blood drives. And the blood is then handled or transported by phlebotomists, drivers, RNs, LPNs, technicians (in the lab, product management, and apheresis departments), and one mechanic. These are front line workers for the collection and processing of...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 3 clicks
Like many folks, I've been reading loads of reports on Union organizing. Like the recently released report No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing by Columbia professor Dr. Kate Bronfenbrenner and Majority Authorizations and Union Organizing in the Public Sector: A Four-State Perspective From the AFL-CIO Now Blog : If you sign up to join a union, you won’...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 2 clicks
Because of the blogging I do, I've had the opportunity to be exposed to new technologies that lots of folks in Government haven't had the opportunity to do. It's a labor of love for me, clearly. Growing up in union probably had a hand in it all. Anyway, I'd been feeling sort of like a tiny cog in the machine at work for several months, perhaps as much as a year. I'm sure lots of you know that fee...
Women Unions - Sep 11
Crystal Lee Sutton (AKA Norma Rae ) has been battling cancer for some time now. Helping Norma Rae: Crystal Lee Sutton – the woman whom the movie "Norma Rae" was based on – is fighting for her life. Ill with meningioma (a brain tumor), her health insurance – which initially denied her coverage – covers so little that her husband must work two jobs to help pay her medical bills. "Crystal's long ...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 2 clicks
Okay, probably not exactly that bad, but I found a new piece in the Metro-city daily e-mail that really caught my attention. AMERICAN RED CROSS RALLY TODAY : Workers and labor allies are rallying outside the American Red Cross headquarters in downtown DC today to support workers who are “engaged in struggles across the country at facilities of the American Red Cross,” reports AFL-CIO Presiden...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 3 clicks
I got this message today and wanted to share: Dear friend or past customer of Northland, Thank you for your support for Northland Poster Collective over the years. Northland has now officially closed its doors after thirty years of supporting organizing, movement building and educational mischief through art. It is sad to see the end of such a long-lasting and well-loved institution but the fac...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 3 clicks
I went to the Doctor the other day. After the $30 copay, 3 new prescriptions and a Dr's request that I head to Radiology and for blood work for two new tests, I decided that maybe I needed to re-think health care. I have good health insurance. I pay way too much every two weeks, but there is just no choice for me and my family. I have to have insurance, even as inadequate as it is. Today, as I...
Women Unions - Sep 11
I’ve been covering issues related to the production of chocolate through the use of child slave labor for a few years now. In all of that time, I didn’t really have a moment to really feel like anyone was listening inside the walls of Congress. Today, however, Congress doesn’t have to act on this, the Department of Labor has and the tone is set in the opening paragraph to their List of Goods ...
Women Unions - Sep 11 - 3 clicks
I work. I know, big surprise. You probably thought this was all I did. I have a job and it pays the bills, case closed. Well, not really. I'm going through the process now of being represented by a union, other than my current membership in the Freelancers Union (Hey All You Freelancers!! Love ya!!). I'm looking to be represented because I changed positions in my agency and it looks as if now, ...
Women Unions - Sep 11
I love taking the train. In the dining car , you can eat with the most interesting and random assortment of folks, at the same table. And, the food is good. You also eat with silverware. I’ve eaten with a woman who can’t fly due to inner ear issues. I’ve eaten with students because Amtrak gives student discounts, so it makes sense for them. I’ve even eaten with folks from the First Class s...
Women Unions - Sep 11
