Why do government spying and surveillance revelations matter to working people? First, let's consider that it is now confirmed that Big Brother -- and Big Business -- routinely spy-on your daily phone and internet activities, and the entire population apparently. The bottom line of the June 6 revelations by the Washington Post newspaper and the U.K.
Disappointment and anger were the responses of many in UE to the news that President Obama will proposed a federal budget that would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.
The sequester. It's kind of a nonsensical name, and maybe it should be, because the policy now being called "sequestration" or "the sequester" makes no sense at all. It officially went into effect on Friday, March 1, and unless Congress agrees to do something different, it will mean indiscriminate across-the-board cuts in most federal programs, although Social Security, Medicaid, and a few other programs were exempted.
Pennsylvania may be the next battlefield in big business' war on the working class. Republican Governor Corbett -- his popularity at an all-time low -- and his allies in the state legislature may be about to ram through union-busting "right-to-work" (RTW) legislation.
Leaders and activists from UE Locals 1177 and1110, UE Western Region and Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ) protested outside the office of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) in downtown Chicago on Monday, December 10, demanding that, in the so-called "Fiscal Cliff" negotiations, he oppose any cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or other important social safety net programs and instead impose higher tax rates on the rich. They joined protestors organized by Stand Up Chicago, MoveOn.org, and Chicago Jobs with Justice in delivering postcards signed by over 5,000 individuals.
In response to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations between President Obama and Republicans in Congress, U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), of which UE is a member organization, is promoting a rational, people-first solution to the federal budget.
A group of progressive Senators and Representatives, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) held a press conference on Thursday, November 15 to call for protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in any deficit reduction deal. See a video clip of their press event here.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on MSNBC's The Ed Show with Ed Schultz on Nov. 8 to rally resistance to any fiscal deal that "balances the budget on the backs of the elderly, the sick and the poor." Sanders urged Pres. Obama to visit every one of the 50 states "no matter how conservative" and ask the people, "Do you really believe we should give tax breaks to billionaires and cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?"
Mitt Romney has been deliberately sketchy about what the federal budget will look like if he wins the election, but what we know about his plans is not good. Congressman Paul Ryan, Romney's running mate, has had a lot more to say about the budget, and it's even scarier.
When Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan as his running mate, he not only aligned himself with the extremist budget proposals put forward over the past two years by Ryan and the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives. Romney also enlisted in the "War on Women" that many Republican politicians - including Ryan - have been waging.