USW Blog

  • ‘Fox & Friends’ dehumanizes Christine Hallquist
    On Tuesday night, Christine Hallquist won her Democratic primary election in Vermont, thereby becoming the first openly transgender gubernatorial candidate from a major political party in the United States. The following morning, Fox & Friends‘ Ainsley Earhardt responded to Hallquist’s historic win by dehumanizing her as “that transgender.” Hallquist told the Associated Press that while she’s proud to be the first major transgender gubernatorial candidate in the country, in Vermont she wants to be known primarily for her progressive platform. For Fox & Friends, however, Hallquist’s victory amounted to little more than a punchline. The only detail that hosts mentioned about the Vermont race was that Hallquist beat a 14-year-old candidate — the implication being that a major victory for the trans community amounted to little more than a joke. *** Reposted from Think Progress — Aug 15
  • Corruption is Legal in America
    Watch the video » — Aug 15
  • Trump’s Threats Against Media Prompt Calls for Security
    Facing escalating violence against reporters – print and broadcast – and GOP President Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and threats, News Guild President Bernie Lunzer is reminding both his locals and media bosses that firms must act to protect their workers, including bargaining with the union over security issues. By now, the situation is so bad at Trump rallies that Lunzer distributed a 7-point security memo to all locals, outlining what they can do and what management must do, in early August. Trump has escalated his war on the media at his hate-filled rallies, where reporters are penned in, literally, often right in the middle of the angry crowd, with few or no escape routes. He routinely points at the press, yelling about “fake news!”, calling reporters “the enemy of the people,” and inciting listeners against the news people, who are there to do their jobs. The latest scary situation occurred July 31 in Tampa, Fla., where the reporters – even those with security – were surrounded by a howling, glaring and threatening Trump crowd. It wasn’t the first time, either. That menace, and the murder of five people – two reporters, two editors and an ad rep – by a gunman with a grudge at the Annapolis (Md.) Capital-Gazette a month before, prompted Lunzer’s memo to locals of The News Guild-CWA. “Workplace safety is a mandatory subject of bargaining. It can also be a subject for the grievance procedure, depending on whether your collective bargaining agreement includes health and safety language and on the wording of the grievance,” Lunzer said in a cover letter. "This language is more than words on paper, as one local knows. Our local in Kingston, N.Y., got the employer to increase security after threats were made against the newsroom.” Lunzer told locals to contact TNG if they have “specific concerns” on security. — Aug 15
  • Trump claimed he saved this company. Now, it’s reportedly facing its lowest point ever.
    President Trump has long praised himself for “saving” more than a thousand jobs at Carrier, a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning company with locations across the globe. Now, however, a New York Times report has revealed morale at the company’s Indianapolis, Indiana factory has reached an all-time low. Months ahead of the 2016 election, Carrier announced it would be shuttering its Indianapolis factory and moving its 1,400 jobs to Mexico, citing “ongoing cost and pricing pressures” driven by “new regulatory requirements.” The unexpected announcement reportedly sent shockwaves through the community, with Carrier employees fearful about their futures. At the time, then-GOP candidate Trump condemned the move, claiming he would impose harsh tariffs on any foreign-made Carrier products, if elected. By November of that year, shortly after winning the presidential election, Trump appeared to have changed his tune, tweeting that he was in talks with Carrier’s leadership to keep the plant running. At the end of the month, Carrier announced it would keep the Indianapolis factory open, saying it had reached a deal with Trump and Vice President Pence to preserve those jobs, in exchange for a $7 million state incentives package. — Aug 14
  • Robert Reich on Republican Plan to Slash Medicaid and Medicare
    Watch the video » — Aug 14