Tag Archives: United States

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AFL – CIO : Tell Verizon to treat workers &customers with RESPECT


VERIZON GREED MUST STOP
Verizon has seen its profits and CEO pay soar while it cut jobs and gutted health care and other benefits for workers. These VeriGreedy practices need to stop.Call 800-229-9460 now to tell Verizon to treat its workers and customers with respect.Share on TwitterTwitter

Recently, we launched our CEO Pay and the 99% website1 to expose the outlandish practices of companies giving huge compensation to CEOs while cutting jobs and sitting on record amounts in cash holdings and short-term investments.

One of the most egregious examples of corporate excess and greed is Verizon. While Verizon tripled the salary of CEO Lowell McAdam to $23.1 million last year,2 it also was cutting U.S. jobs, gutting worker pensions and charging current and retired employees and their families thousands of dollars more for health benefits while reducing disability coverage.

This is unacceptable and we need to let Verizon know it.

Call 800-229-9460 now to record a message that will be delivered directly to Verizon executives.

Today, while Verizon holds its shareholders meeting in Huntsville, Ala., working families and Verizon customers in Huntsville and across the country will be calling on the company to end these “VeriGreedy” practices, respect its customers and the workers who keep the company running and save good, middle-class jobs.

Because of the hard work of tens of thousands of customer support representatives, technicians, electricians and other workers who provide the best quality service they can to customers, Verizon has enjoyed success. Verizon workers are part of the solution, not the problem. They should not be punished with job cuts and increased health care and benefit costs while Verizon executives get huge pay raises and the company sits on $14 billion in cash holdings and short-term investments.3

Call 800-229-9460 now and tell Verizon to treat workers and customers with respect—by negotiating a fair contract.

Corporate greed on this scale is bad enough, but when combined with neglecting workers, it’s completely unacceptable. Together we can put an end to these terrible corporate practices—but only if you speak up and make your voice heard.

In Solidarity,

Andy Richards
New Media Strategist, AFL-CIO

P.S. After you have left your message for Verizon executives, make sure to click here to find out if an event is happening in your area today you can attend to support Verizon workers.

1 http://www.aflcio.org/Corporate-Watch/CEO-Pay-and-the-99.
2 http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120319-714892.html.
3 Verizon Communications Form 10-K, filed 2/24/2012.
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Fired for her credit score … Tim Newman, Change.org


Fired for having student loans? Latoya Horton says she was fired from her job as an accountant, not because she did anything wrong, but because her employer checked her credit report and decided her debt-to-credit ratio was too high. Latoya was outraged: “How are you supposed to pay off your student loans if you can’t get — or keep — a job because of your loans?”

It happens more than you think: Latoya found out that 60% of employers now check employees’ credit reports. They often buy them from TransUnion, one of the largest credit reporting companies. TransUnion’s chair, Penny Pritzker, even sits on President Obama’s jobs panel. She’s responsible for spurring job creation, but her company is profiting from a practice that makes it harder for people with debt to find work.

You can help: Latoya started a petition on Change.org demanding that TransUnion stop selling credit reports to employers immediately. If thousands of people sign Latoya’s petition, it will shine a national spotlight on what Latoya thinks is an ethically dubious practice, and TransUnion’s executives will be forced to respond.

Click here to sign Latoya’s petition.

Thanks,

– Tim

——

Here’s a lot more information about Latoya’s campaign in her own words:

Years ago I went to college to study accounting, and like millions of other Americans I took out loans to pay for it. A few years later I got a temporary job in the accounting department at Bain & Co., and after 6 months of reliable work I was thrilled to be offered a full-time position.

However, just a few weeks after starting in my new position the company fired me because my debt-to-credit ratio was too high. I later learned that 60% of employers now check credit reports, which typically include student debts. How are you supposed to pay off your student debts if you can’t get (or keep) a job BECAUSE of your debts? And what do my student debts have to do with my ability to do a job well anyway?

25 states have debated bills in the last year to restrict this practice, and in a number of these states one company has fought hardest against these efforts: credit reporting company TransUnion.

What’s ironic is that Penny Pritzker, TransUnion’s Chair and part owner, sits on President Obama’s Jobs and Competitiveness Council, which advises the President on putting Americans back to work. How can someone advise on national job creation when her company sells products that may keep qualified people out of work?

Please join me and 25 national civil rights organizations in calling on TransUnion to stop its sale of credit reports to employers. As the only one of the “Big 3” credit reporting companies that’s privately held, TransUnion has the ability to stop this practice overnight.

It was recently announced that in the coming weeks TransUnion will be sold to two private equity companies, including Goldman Sachs. If Penny Pritzker is serious about job creation, she should do what she can to ensure that her company stops this abusive practice before the company is sold.

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President Obama and Commander in Chief


Apr 30, 2012 by    

President Obama speaks at the Building and Construction Trades Department Conference about creating good jobs for American workers, who can help our economy grow by rebuilding our nation’s roads, bridges, train tracks, and airports. April 30, 2012

Apr 28, 2012 by    

President Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.

Apr 28, 2012 by    

President Obama discusses a new Executive Order designed to crack down on the bad actors who prey on our veterans and service members considering higher education.

Apr 25, 2012 by    

President Obama discusses the importance of a college education and why higher education should be affordable for all students willing to work hard, and calls on Congress to stop interest rates on federal Stafford loans from doubling in July. April 24, 2012

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20 ways. 20 days. 20% less carbon.


Union of Concerned Scientists: 20/20/20 - 20 ways. 20 days. 20% less carbon.

You can still get cooler and smarter—20 ways, 20 days, 20% less carbon

I just got 20% COOLER sticker

(and get your FREE sticker!)

Take the Challenge
Don’t you want to be the coolest and smartest of all your friends? Our first 20 days are almost up! What are you waiting for? Join the first round of our 20/20/20 challenge—20 ways to get cooler and smarter, and in just 20 days you’ll be on the path to 20 percent fewer carbon emissions.
Thousands of people have already committed to reducing their global warming-causing carbon emissions by making changes to their diets, their commutes, and their lightbulbs—and that adds up to a serious positive impact for the planet.
Even if you already live a cooler smarter lifestyle than most Americans, you still have the power to make important changes—I know I did. Since I am lucky enough to live in a city with great public transportation and don’t use a car most days, I looked to my home for ways to save energy. I was able to reduce my carbon emissions 20 percent by updating my furnace (which quickly paid for itself), insulating the walls, installing a programmable thermostat, and making other small adjustments around the house.
Choose which carbon-saving tips best fit your life by taking the 20/20/20 challenge today. Then imagine if 20 of your friends do it… or 20,000… or 200 million… we’re talking serious impact!
Join the 20/20/20 challenge and get tips on how best to fight global warming in your life (plus a FREE sticker – while they last).
One person can have an impact—and we’ve got the science to prove it. After two years of research and analysis, our scientists have discovered the most effective ways to reduce carbon emissions. And we’ve made it easy for you to get on the path to 20 percent less carbon in 20 days.
Check out our infographic to see 20 percent less carbon by the numbers, and take the 20/20/20 challenge to do your part to save the planet.
Thanks for being so cool and smart!
Sincerely,
Suzanne Shaw SigSuzanne Shaw Co-author of Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living
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What It Takes to Live on Minimum Wage …Joan Entmacher, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center - Don't Discount Women: Demand Fair Change Not Spare Change
Help Us Raise the Minimum Wage
                Share your story about what it takes for women and families to live on the minimum wage.
Share Your Story

$14,500.
That is what a woman makes working full time for a full year at the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
That’s right — only $14,500 a year, which is below the federal poverty line for a family of three. For tipped workers, the federal minimum cash wage is only $2.13 an hour! And nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers and tipped workers are women.
We want to increase the minimum wage for all workers, including tipped workers, to give working families a boost and help close the wage gap.
But we can’t do it without your help. We want to hear about what it takes to live on minimum wage from women who’ve experienced it.
If you have a story to share, could you share it with us — or forward this message along to someone who might?
Around the country, families — especially those headed by women — are struggling to make ends meet. We want to make sure that legislators know EXACTLY what the stakes are. Women who work for the minimum wage do tough jobs — and deserve a raise!
Please share your story today, and stay tuned for more opportunities to join us as we ramp up our efforts to increase the federal minimum wage!
Sincerely,
Joan Entmacher Joan Entmacher Vice President, Family Economic Security National Women’s Law Center   

P.S. Please help us continue to advocate for policies that protect and improve economic security for women and their families by making a generous donation today.