New Year, Same Problem. Young Workers Can Overcome the Recession and Jobs Crisis

By , on January 8th, 2010

A new year is here.  Usually this means new resolutions, new hopes, and new goals are being set. Some things, however, are hard to shake off.  Take for example the great recession and jobs crisis.  Today the official numbers came out, and they’re a sad reminder that 2010 is going to be a bumpy ride.

From the AP:

Lack of confidence…led employers to shed a more-than-expected 85,000 jobs in December… The unemployment rate held at 10 percent. The rate would have been higher if more people had been looking for work instead of leaving the labor force because they can’t find jobs.

The sharp drop in the work force – 661,000 fewer people – showed that more of the jobless are giving up on their search for work. Once people stop looking for jobs, they are no longer counted among the unemployed.

For reasons unknown to me, media outlets are writing about something relevant and covering one of the biggest issues affecting the nation – the lack of jobs.  Not only are they covering jobs, they’re writing about the impact of the crisis on young workers!

The Wall Street Journal writes about “best and

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January 8th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Economy | Comments are closed

Together, Students and Labor Will Change the Country

By , on December 9th, 2009

As the semester winds down and students retreat to their classrooms and studies, is a good time to reflect on the struggles that young people are facing and our willingness to fight back and demand a real change in the system that will protect young people in this fragile economy.

Last week AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler posted a blog on the Huffington Post about the dire situation of young workers and the AFL-CIO’s proposed five point initial steps to support workers in this economy.  In these steps, you can see the immediate connection to the current work that students nationwide are engaged in against budget cuts and layoffs.  Two points in the AFL-CIO’s plan for addressing the jobs crisis speak directly to the needs and demands that we have been pushing for in the student movement. 

  • Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems and invest in green technology and green jobs.
  • Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services.

    • It is not surprising that the labor movement and the student movement see the same problems and solutions.  We share the need to fight back against the corporatization of our lives and for a real change in the current

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    December 9th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Everything Else | Comments are closed

    Turning the Economy Around: Rebuilding the Labor Movement with Young Workers at the Forefront

    By , on August 5th, 2009

    We saw a great piece on young workers and unions at the AFL-CIO website,  and wanted to share our thinking on the subject.  We’re glad to see its not just the Wall Street Journal offering  advice to young workers in this economic crisis, so we’re updating a similar piece we wrote a few months back on why this effort deserves more attention.

    With the economy being what it is these days, one has to wonder, “What’s it going to take to turn this thing around”?  Big Business is already trying to go back to “business as usual”, with a bottom-line focused on profits, and acting as if no economic crisis ever occurred.  Sadly this continues to be done at the expense of their workers.

    It’s easy to feel discouraged and hopeless in this situation as an individual, but if we are to overcome our immediate problems we need to get serious about building collective power to challenge the grip that corporations and banks have on Congress (which has been easy for all to see these days -  just look at the healthcare debate.)

    Thankfully it appears the labor movement is doing just

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    August 5th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Labor Law Reform | Comments are closed