LaborTalk Columns

Harry Kelber


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LaborTalk: Should the 2012 Elections Be a Fund-Raising Race For the Presidency Between Romney and Obama?-June 14, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: How the Unemployed Can Join with Unions To Press Congress for Jobs—and Win Them! -June 9, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Millions of Jobless Are Such Easy Targets For Congress and States to Slash Benefits - May 30, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: If I just spend $3 on a ticket, I could have a private dinner With President Obama. Really? What are the odds? - May 24, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: JPMorgan Hired Lobbyists to Ease Risks and Create Loopholes for Investments - May 17, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: What Are the Spending Cuts Affecting Workers Which Obama and Republicans Both Approved? - May 3, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Hospital Debt Collectors Harass Patients To Pay Bills Before Receiving Treatment - April 26, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Is 'Socialism' Such a Dirty Word in America? Yet Why Do We Use Its Principles in Our Daily Lives? - April 18, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO’s Rallies Pretend to Fight Wall Street; When Will We Be Defended with Real Action? - April 16, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: The AFL-CIO Executive Council Must Come out of the Shadows To Provide National Leadership in the Fight to Save Our Unions - April 12, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: How Sweeney and Trumka Used Trickery And Illegal Votes to Win Four-Year Terms - April 10, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Top Labor Leaders Thrive on Corrupt Practices; They Now Control AFL-CIO Policies and Funds - April 5, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Union Members Should Vote for Candidates Who Support a Federal Law on Worker Rights - March 10, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO’s Newly-Designed Website Emphasizes ‘Culture of Openness’ and Member Participation - March 9, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Unions Will Spend Millions on the 2012 Elections. What Benefits Will We Receive If Our Side Wins? - March 8, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO’s Self-Imposed Silence on Abortion and War Has Angered Its Women Members and Its Veterans - March 7, 2012 Read Column

Republicans Peddle the Ideal of ‘Small Government’: Would Relieve Us from Dealing with Public Needs - March 5, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: We Invite Trumka’s Supporters to Occupy Our Space to Praise His Leadership Record - March 2, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Let’s Re-Build the American Labor Movement By Educating a New Generation of Workers - February 28, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: What Should Organized Labor Expect If Obama Wins the Presidency in 2012? - February 25, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Do Unions Allow a Highly Profitable Company To Lockout 1,050 Workers and Keep Up Production? - February 21, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Has the AFL-CIO Abandoned the Fight To Increase the Federal Minimum Wage? - February 17, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Are the High Salaries of AFL-CIO Officials A Sign of Economic Inequality in Unions? - February 14, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: How America’s Unions Helped to Build A Middle Class for Workers in the U.S. - February 12, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO Members Are Becoming More Critical Of Their Leaders, Who Keep on Ignoring Them - February 10, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: How 'Right-to-Work’ Laws in 23 States Block Unions from Conducting Membership Drives - February 7, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Donors Invest Millions in the 2012 Elections, Expecting Their Money to Produce Victories - February 3, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Walmart Has Stores in 15 Countries; It Can Be Unionized by Global Effort - February 2, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Obama’s ‘Buffett Tax Rule’ Offers Wealthy New Options to Avoid ‘Fair Share’ Problem - January 31, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Employers Use Lockouts to Win Concessions; Aim to Destroy or Cripple America’s Unions - January 24, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: The Historic Problem of Economic Inequality That Americans Have Been Unable to Solve - January 20, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Will Trillion Dollars Be Spent to Reduce U.S. Debt Or Create Jobs and Save Key Domestic Services? - January 13, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: The AFL-CIO Still Has No Plans to Involve Its Union Members in the 2012 Elections - January 10, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Iran Threatens to Shut Oil Exports In Response to New U.N. Sanctions - January 6, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: Manufacturers Are Hiring Workers in America, But Offer a Sharp Drop in Wages and Benefits - January 2, 2012 Read Column

LaborTalk: U.S. Investors Are Buying Troubled European Firms; Will Shift in Strategy Affect the American Economy? - December 28, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Republicans Agree to a Two-Month Extension Of Payroll Tax Cuts and Benefits for the Jobless - December 23, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Democrats and Republicans Play Politics With Jobless in Limbo over Benefits - December 20, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: E-Mails and Marches Won’t Persuade Congress To Create Jobs. What Do Our Leaders Propose? - December 13, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: A 'Robin Hood' Tax on International Trade Can Produce Huge Annual Funds to Help Solve Global Economic Crisis - December 9, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: The First Lady Has invited Me to Have Dinner With Barack and Her. She's 'Excited' to Meet Me! - December 5, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Where is the 'Independent Political Voice' That Trumka Promised AFL-CIO Members? - December 2, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: How Much Is a ‘Fair Share’ for Corporations to Pay For Jobs They Killed and Homes They Wrecked? - November 28, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Inequality Is Now a Key World Issue That Can No Longer Be Suppressed - November 19, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Most American Workers Are Baffled By Financial News in U.S. and Abroad - November 18, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Will Labor’s Stunning Victory in Ohio Prepare It for the Big Battles Abhead? - November 15, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO Plans a Last-Minute Response To Cuts in Social Security and Medicare - November 11, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: 'Robin Hood' Tax on Business Deals Could Provide Millions of Jobs for the Unemployed over 10 Years - November 8, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Have ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Sites Grown In 1,000 U.S. Cities and 1,800 World-Wide? - November 1, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Trumka Describes How New Corporate Models Avoid Dealing with Unions on Worker Rights - October 21, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Obama Cut Cost-of-Living Benefit for Retirees; Who Else Will Pay for Trillions in Spending Cuts? - October 18, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Congress Flatly Rejects Obama’s Jobs bill; Millions of Unemployed Are Abandoned - October 14, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Trumka Reviews Labor’s Plan for Ending Economic Crisis; Anti-Wall Street Protests Are Spreading in Major Cities - October 4, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: New Labor Coalition Plans to Invest Billions In Infrastructure and Clean Energy Jobs - September 30, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Labor Can Now Reach Out to Non-Union Households, But What Are the Advantages They Can Offer Them? - September 27, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: The Trillion–Dollar Budget Cuts Will Mean A Major Setback to the Campaign for Jobs - September 25, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: One of Six Americans Lives in a State of Poverty; The Gap Between Rich and Poor Grows Wider - September 20, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Trumka and Council Have Two-Year Record Of Failures After a Phony Election Victory - September 16, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Is the AFL-CIO’s SuperPac an Effective Model For a New ‘Independent Labor Voice’ in 2012? - September 9, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Obama’s Labor Day Proclamation Praises Workers, But Masks the Harsh Realities They Must Endure - September 5, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Is the U.S. Safe from Nuclear Disaster, After an Earthquake and a Hurricane? - September 2, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: If the AFL-CIO Wants to 'Make Wall Street Pay!', Why Not Start by Unionizing the Major Banks? - August 26, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: $1.5 Trillion Cuts in Government Spending Will Leave Scant Funds for Job Creation - August 22, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Does Anyone Believe Jobs Will Be Created By an ‘America Wants to Work’ March? - August 12, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: 45,000 Verizon Workers Are Forced to Strike As Company Wants Scores of Concessions - August 10, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: After His Okay of $1.5 trillion in Spending Cuts, Where Will Obama Get Funds for Job Creation? - August 8, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: So the Debt Ceiling Has Been Raised; Let Us Get Back to Our REAL Crisis - August 5, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: The New Debt Plan: Forget About New Jobs; For Workers, $2.4 Trillion in Spending Cuts - August 2, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: 4,000 FAA Employees Are Furloughed, As Congress Fails to Pass Aviation Bill - July 29, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Whatever Happens, Workers Will Suffer A $1 Trillion (Plus) in New Spending Cuts - July 26, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Unions Sacrifice Wages and Benefits To Avoid Massive Layoffs of Members - July 22, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: The U.S. Adds a New War in Libya Before Ending Iraq and Afghanistan - July 19, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Isn’t the AFL-CIO Involved In Talks About Spending Cuts? - July 15, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: In Secret Talks with GOP, Obama Agrees To Cuts in Medicare and Social Security - July 12, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Obama and Boehner Seek a $4 Trillion Deal That Could Wipe Out Millions of Jobs - July 8, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Will 155,000 Contractor Mercenaries Remain On Pentagon Payroll in Iraq and Afghanistan? - July 6, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: For 5 Years, AFL-CIO Hasn’t Mentioned Iraq and Afghanistan on Its Web Site - July 1, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Can’t Our Unions Organize Any Wal-Mart or Target Stores? - June 28, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Can We Create Ten Million New Jobs Or Tolerate an Army of Unemployed? - June 24, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: The AFL-CIO Will Never Regain Power By Its Blackout of Justified Criticism - June 21, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO Says U.S. Wars Aren’t An Issue for American Labor - June 17, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: 131 on the AFL-CIO Payroll Earn $100,000 or More, Plus Benefits - June 10, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Nurses’ Union, at Washington Rally, Proposes a ‘Main Street Contract’ - June 6, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO Abandons Its Campaign for Jobs; Wall Street Won’t Pay for Economic Crisis - June 3, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Obama Enlists Employers to Discharge Undocumented Workers or Be Penalized - May 31, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Labor Should Have a Seat at the Table When Spending Cuts Are Being Debated - May 27, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO Chief Issues Warning to Democrats: Labor Will Be Independent in 2012 Elections - May 24, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: The Big Debate Is Not About Creating Jobs, But How to Slice or Slash Public Spending - May 20, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Why Did They Decide to Kill Bin Laden When They Could Capture Him Alive? - May 17, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: New Single-Payer Health-Care Bill Offers Coverage for All Americans - May 13, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: U.S. Is Planning International Trade Agreements That Would Cost Americans Thousands of Jobs - May 6, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Labor Board Cites Boeing Move as Illegal; Corporations Attack Board as Pro-Union - April 29, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Obama’s Plan to Allow Panel to Curb Medicare Meets Bi-Partisan Opposition - April 22, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Republican Plan to Cut Medicare and Medicaid Could Cost the Economy Nearly 2 Million Jobs - April 15, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Many Companies Pay No Federal Taxes; The Lost Revenue Means Cuts in Services - April 5, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Will AFL-CIO’s Massive April 4 ‘Day of Actions’ Stop the Republican Effort to Strangle Unions? - April 1, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Pep Rallies Are Good to Lift Our Spirits, But We Still Haven’t a Winning Strategy - March 29, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: While Labor Leaders Remained Silent on Lybia, The Nation Hotly Debated U.S. Military Mission - March 25, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: New York’s Construction Unions Are Losing Their Market Share of New Building Projects - March 22, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO Downplays its Fight for Jobs For the Present and the 2012 Elections - March 18, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Moore Tells Us How We’ve Been Screwed, But AFL-CIO Won’t Print a Word About It - March 15, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: U.S. Radicals Offer Lots of Advice, But Few Are Ready to Take Risks - March 11, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Cultural and Sports Programs Can Breed Union Members’ Loyalty and Solidarity - March 8, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: New Health Law Is Riddled With Major Headaches; States ‘Opt-Out Rights’ Will Add to the Confusion - March 4, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Defensive Solidarity in Wisconsin Is Splendid; Unions Need a Battle Plan to Win Bargaining - March 1, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Surge for Human Rights Is Worldwide; AFL-CIO Members Are Slow to Protest - February 25, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Republicans Conduct Statewide Wars To Shackle Unions and Worker Rights - February 22, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: How Obama and the G.O.P. Squabble Ways to Spend Our Hard-Earned Money - February 18, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Millions of Jobless Still Haunt Us; Talk About Jobs Doesn’t Help Them - February 15, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Will AFL-CIO’s Partnership with U.S. Chamber And Obama’s Woo of Chief CEOs Yield Jobs? - February 8, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Mubarak Supporters Attack Protesters; U.S. Insists Egypt’s Despot Leave Now - February 4, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Trumka and Chief Anti-Union Activist In Joint Statement on Infrastructure - January 29, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Unions Lost 612,000 Members in 1010; Our Leaders See No Cause for Alarm - January 24, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: AFL-CIO's Faulty Strategy Doomed Vote on Employee Free Choice Act - January 21, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: NLRB Says Law Allows ‘Card Check’ Option; The Board Will Sue Four States for Violations - January 14, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: While Congress Debates the Cost of the Law, 50 Million People Have No Health Insurance - January 11, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: Republicans Use States’ Budget Crisis With Plans to Cripple Labor Activities - January 8, 2011 Read Column

LaborTalk: To Solve Budget Crises, a 10% Pay Cut For Obama, Congress and Other Officials - January 3, 2011 Read Column

For earlier LaborTalk Columns, click here.