Neoliberalism

As the economy of Greece continues to falter, the leaders of the country gave in to the demands of the EU and adopted an austerity plan which will crush poor and working people. In this video, David Harvey puts the Greece situation in a global economic and political context calling it an attempt by the wealthy/elite class to gain more power by disciplining the poor and working class and rolling back the social safety net of the country.

Washington, D.C. - The national employment situation has worsened, as confirmed by the May jobs report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  The BLS’s report was released on Friday, June 3, 2011, and it indicated that job growth has slowed substantially.  In May, employers added only 54,000 jobs.

by Jonathan David
January 20, 2011—After an autumn of unrest, university students and several of England’s largest labor unions plan more actions, including a national demonstration in both London and Manchester on January 29th to protest the government’s passage of a law to raise university tuition from £3,290 to £9,000, (or $14,200), a year. Students could finish college with £40,000 or $63,000 (including living expenses) in student loan debt.

Media Mobilizing Project, Philadelphia Student Union, Poverty Initiative, and the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania are honored to host an Exchange with S'bu Zikode, president of Abahlali baseMjondolo, or Shack Dwellers' Movement, of South Africa. The exchange will take place this Monday, November 15th at Arch Street United Methodist Chuch (55 North Broad Street, at Arch) from 6:30 - 8:00 PM.

On Monday people across the city remembered the eighty-seven souls that died in this last year either living on the streets or in shelters. Eighty-seven people!  This is a dramatic rise from the previous year and it is shameful.

In These Times reports that La Colectiva de Mujeres, a collective of domestic workers in San Francisco, have undertaken a new advertising campaign unveiling posters, billboards, bus ads and postcards depicting domestic workers as strong, independent and "green" savvy. The aim of the campaign is to both protect the rights of domestic workers while supporting a worker-run cleaning collective.

On Sunday October 25, members of the Transit Workers Union, TWU Local 234,voted to authorize a strike, due to stalled contract negotiations with SEPTA. TWU Local 234, which represents 4,700 workers in the city, has been operating without a contract since March of 2009. As a TWU flyer explains, SEPTA management has rejected any salary increases for workers for the next five years even though SEPTA ridership is up 30 percent and the transit authority has received increased funding from both the commonwealth and the Federal government. The authorization of a strike comes one week before the first World Series game in Philadelphia On October 31.

In a report released today, the Fiscal Policy Institute examines the effect of the current economic downturn on New York State, finding that job loss and wage declines are hitting New Yorkers hard - with some groups experiencing staggering levels of unemployment. Joblessness in New York State has increased by almost 400,000 since early 2008. How does this extreme growth in unemployment relate to Pennslyvania?

In the midst of a national health care reform battle, a small drama unfolds in northeast Philadelphia. Last week, the Pennsylvania House held up $175 million in additional funding to Temple University. Representative John Taylor described the move as a “wake up call for Temple University” to live up to their responsibility to the public.

Photos by Kathleen Foley. Video by Tim Moyer.

On Wednesday July 22, over 300 taxi drivers, along with allies from Media Mobilizing Project, Workers United, Philadelphia Student Union, Casino Free Philadelphia, Jobs with Justice and IWW rallied at 3101 Market Street outside the headquarters of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA).  The rally was focused on a list of demands taxi drivers have for the PPA:

• Fair parking ticket practices and an end to drive-by ticketing practices,
• A lowering of new PPA fees where, for instance, it now costs drivers $200 to put a new taxi on the road, and
• A return of all credit card money that has been misplaced from drivers' accounts through the PPA run credit card system.