A New America

Favorite Education Blogs of 2008

2008-04-07T14:38:00.002-05:00

Edwize is among the Washington Post's Favorite Education Blogs of 2008, courtesy of teacherken.

Webcomics Discussion Panel at STAPLE! 2008

2008-03-07T10:52:00.003-05:00

I came to this panel on web comics from David Malki, whose Wondermark I love. It's hilarious and worth watching. Click the button and spend an hour laughing.

Open Left 12/4/2007

2007-12-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

From Open Left:

Reading Liberally Page Turner: What Book To Give Your Conservative Uncle This Holiday Season
Well, O'Reilly is getting even more ballistic than usual, so y'know what that means - the holiday season is upon us. With the first night of Hanukkah this evening, with Christmas and Kwanzaa only a few weeks away, some of our minds turn to gift-giving. Namely, what to give to that conservative uncle/aunt/friend who constantly e-mails you conservative spam and turns every family get-together into a political referendum. Figuring that knowledge is power, we asked some of our favorite activists what book to give our favorite conservative this winter. Happy Holidays!
Steve Perez, United Federation of Teachers: I'll recommend Singularity Sky by Charles Stross. Three reasons: first, it's fiction, and I prefer that to a polemic. Second, it's a good book, funny and smart. Third, there's a lot of progressive science fiction being written, and IMO it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Politicker 11/9/2007

2007-11-09T17:50:00.000-05:00

From the Politicker:

Elsewhere: Clinton, Spitzer, Smiley
The UFT is heading to talks with the city next week about reducing paperwork for teachers.

Daily Kos 10/25/2007

2007-10-25T13:25:00.000-05:00

From DailyKos:

Midday Open Thread
by MissLaura
In New York City's largest labor organizing drive since 1960, 28,000 home childcare workers joined the UFT. That's something for labor to celebrate.

The Albany Project 10/12/2007

2007-10-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

Bad News? We Don't Need No Stinking Bad News!
by: SteveUFT
[I hope this post proves interesting. It was written by Edwize blogger Leo Casey. This crosspost rearranges the original post for space considerations.]
The New York City Department of Education web site has had a dramatic facelift, with almost every new whistle and bell you could want.
If you want information and data on a school, you type the name into the conveniently located search engine, and it will take you to what is called a NYC DOE portal for that school. We searched Stuyvesant High School, and we were taken here. On the left hand side of the page there is a category "Statistics," and if you click on it, it takes you to a page that has all of the DOE's statistical reports. You can read the Stuyvesant High School's Learning Environment Survey, its Quality Review Report, its School Report Card, its Budget, its Weekly Attendance, its Register, its Expenditure Report, its Galaxy Budget Allocations, its Table of Organization [with budget allocation], and its Building and School Facilities Report.
Everything you could want to know, right?
Not if graduation rate is what you're looking for.
. . .

MyDD, Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 10/9/2007

2007-10-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

Blog post on the recommended list at MyDD:

Teachers Union Endorses Hillary Clinton
by SteveUFT
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president:

Acting on behalf of its more than 1.4 million members, the AFT executive council on Wednesday endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president, citing her proven ability to advance our nation's key priorities, and her bold plans for a stronger America.
"Our members have told us that they want a leader they can trust to strengthen public education, increase access to health care, promote commonsense economic priorities and secure America's place in the world," said AFT president Edward J. McElroy. "Hillary Clinton is that leader."

Chris Bowers at Open Left calls it, "the biggest endorsement of the campaign for me so far."

I know AFT people, both the teachers and the organizers. They are friends, family and colleagues. They are smart, extremely hard working, and also very progressive. I trust the decisions they make. If they decide to endorse Hillary Clinton, that means a lot to me . . . The AFT endorsement of Hillary Clinton improves my image of Hillary Clinton.
Here's coverage from TPM Election Central:
The drumbeat of good Hillary news just isn't stopping today: The latest is that she's picking up the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers.

Garance Franke-Ruta at Tapped offers this analysis:
The move was long expected for three reasons: Clinton's historic commitment to and advocacy work around the education of children have given her deep relationships in the education community; the largest AFT affiliate is based in New York; and more than three-fourths of teachers are female.

Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic reports, "a union source says the vote for Hillary was 'overwhelming.'"

Liz Benjamin at Daily Politics looks at the timing:
The New York contingent, which is the largest state organization in the AFT, lobbied hard on the part of its "favorite daughter" - a status the union conferred on Clinton back in April - while Illinois, the second-largest, did the same on behalf of its designated "favorite son," Barack Obama.
The argument, Ianuzzi said, was less about whether Clinton should be the AFT's candidate, since 45 percent of the union's likely voters favor her, according to a poll conducted by Peter Hart Associates (Obama got 21, John Edwards received 13), and more about whether it would be more appropriate to delay the endorsement altogether to see if some other frontrunner emerges.

The Council isn't scheduled to meet again until February, Ianuzzi noted, by which point, at the rate things are going, the Democratic nomination contest could be good and over.

Additional coverage rounded up at Edwize.

Also on the front page at Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham.

Working Life 9/26/2007

2007-09-26T14:02:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Working Life:

Union Busting 101: A Look Inside Jackson Lewis
by Steve Perez
I want to urge everyone to read Unionbusting Confidential, the cover story from the latest issue of In These Times. For the low, low price of $1,595, article author Art Levine signed up for a seminar on staying union-free led by attorneys from Jackson Lewis. As labor laws weaken, companies are spending literally billions on union busting, and Jackson Lewis is one of the go-to law firms. Here's a sample of what their seminar is about:
What if we felt like saying a lot of anti-union stuff to our workers? Lotito introduced a segment called "You Can Say It." Could we tell our workers, for instance, that a union had held strike at a nearby facility only to find that all the strikers had been replaced—and that the same could happen to the employees here? Sure, said Lotito. "It's lawful." He added, "What happens if this statement is a lie? They didn't have another strike, there were no replacements? It's still lawful: The labor board doesn't really care if people are lying."

But if everything failed, and we found ourselves negotiating with a newly formed union, then we still shouldn't lose heart. Instead, we could continue to undermine the union by rejecting all of its demands during negotiations. (In fact, in about a third of the cases after a union victory, employers don't even agree to a contract.)
Go read the rest.
We're familiar with Jackson Lewis here in New York.
Read this post on Edwize exposing a similar seminar, held in November 2005, on "union prevention" in New York state charter schools led by Jackson Lewis, with special guest Rod Paige as the lunchtime speaker.

AFT NCLBlog 9/20/2007

2007-09-20T18:03:00.000-05:00

From AFT NCLBlog:

Blinded me with Science
I am late out of the box on this one but, tardy or not, it's worth checking out. Jackie Bennett at Edwize points out the inconsistencies in this recent editorial from her hometown paper about NCLB and whether it promotes science instruction.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 9/20/2007

2007-09-20T13:46:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project and Daily Gotham:

NCLB - It's Getting Serious
posted by SteveUFT
[I hope this post about the changes to No Child Left Behind proposed by Congress proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger Maisie.]
Lest you think that the debate over reauthorizing No Child Left Behind is hard-to-follow/wonkish/a tempest-in-a-teapot or anything like that, note that Jonathan Kozol today entered his 76th day of a partial hunger strike over NCLB.
In protest over that law, Kozol, the widely-published, passionate advocate of educational equality, has taken himself into the realm of serious danger.
He's sick of NCLB. Mandating math and reading tests and punishing schools and students who do not meet their targets is "turning thousands of inner-city schools into Dickensian test-preparation factories," Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page quoted Kozol as saying. It has "dumbed down" school for poor, urban kids and created "a parallel curriculum that would be rejected out-of-hand" in the suburbs.
. . .

Eduwonk 9/18/2007

2007-09-18T14:59:00.000-05:00

From Eduwonk:

Odds And Ends

Off Message: New York wins the $1 million Broad Prize for education*, UFT head Randi Weingarten says, "It's a great day for New York" and joins city officials to accept the award but over at Edwize they're all grumbling and sourpuss. *I'm on the review board.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 9/17/2007

2007-09-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project and Daily Gotham:

The NY Times, The Business Roundtable, and NCLB
posted by SteveUFT
[I hope this post about the changes to No Child Left Behind proposed by Congress proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger Jackie Bennett in response to a New York Times editorial.]
Every corner of the educational community has protested the consequences of No Child Left Behind, including that the law has narrowed the curriculum and unfairly penalized schools already making progress.
In spite of that, an editorial in the NY Times defends the status quo. Referring to proposed NCLB revisions, the Times complains that the changes will "allow schools to mask failure in teaching crucial subjects like reading and math by giving them credit for student performance in other subjects."
Yet, just one paragraph earlier the Times has this to say: "Faced with poorly educated workers at home — especially in science — American companies are increasingly looking abroad."
. . .

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Blogs United 9/12/2007

2007-09-12T12:44:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project and Daily Gotham:

Numbers Don't Lie, But . . .
posted by SteveUFT
[I hope this post on the recently-released Learning Environment Survey proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger CitySue.]
. . . those who attempt to explain them often do. The so-called Learning Environment Survey released by the city of New York is a case in point.
For teachers the results were gratifying. Nobody -- not even Mike the Master of Spin -- could do anything to diminish a statistically astounding 90 percent approval rate!
Curiously, although the DOE apparently wanted to know what parents thought about "the quality" of their child's teacher, it didn't ask parents what they thought of the school principal. Though maybe it's not so surprising considering the fact that Klein is betting the farm on them to bail him out of the first and second reorganizations.
. . .

Also, a front page quick hit at Blogs United

Politicker 9/4/2007

2007-09-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

From the Politicker:

Elsewhere: Spitzer, Carville, Morano
The UFT thinks the Schools Chancellor is already being counter productive.

Working for Change 9/4/2007

2007-09-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

From Working for Change:

A Labor (Not Labored) Reading Selection
With all the leisure time on beaches and in backyards, Labor Day weekend was a good time to read...but chances are you didn't read about Labor itself. Honestly, we don't blame you. Pick up the wrong book and you'll find something either too dry or way over your head in wonkishness, neither of which makes for a fun time.
That's why it's great that David Sirota put together a reading list -- worth checking out for anyone who wants to find a fulfilling route into the firmament of the movement.
Today, on Open Left, Reading Liberally posted in the same spirit: with a guest essay by UFT blogger Steve Perez on the new biography of teachers' union leader Al Shanker, entitled Tough Liberal. Shanker's powerful role in shaping the union in the 60s resonates to today:

...Education is still in the public sphere and a function of government. Contrast this to our deregulated energy system and the rampant union busting of the 1980s. Shanker's reform proposals have guided the changes in American schools for the past 25 years. The right's push to privatize schools and their opening salvo in that fight, private school vouchers, has failed to gain traction.

But it was a mixed victory. Even Shanker felt that many of his proposals were distorted in an attempt to make schools more like assembly lines and teachers like cogs in charge of quality control. Witness No Child Left Behind, where national testing goes from being a yardstick to help schools discover what they could be doing better to being the sole focus in the classroom.

Tough Liberal isn't a general introduction to Labor...but for today's progressive, Perez contends its a relevant and riveting read.

Al Shanker operated on a public stage. He wasn't afraid to engage in public fights for what he believed in: protecting teachers and improving schools, as well as the larger ideas of democracy and school as a place where children learn how to be full participants in democracy. He constantly wrestled with how best to do that, and how best to make his argument to teachers and the broader public.

Bloggers face the same challenge of how to influence public debate and public policy.

Thanks to Steve Perez and David Sirota for suggesting some non-laborious labor reading...there has to be more to read than John Grisham on the free day union's won for all of us.

Open Left 9/4/2007

2007-09-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Open Left:

Reading Liberally Page Turner, Labor Edition: Tough Liberal
By Steve Perez, Edwize
When Al Shanker began teaching in East Harlem in the early 1950s, he could have made more money washing cars. But if you really want a sense of how poorly teachers were treated 60 years ago, before the rise of teacher unionism, then consider this: Pregnant teachers were forced to leave the profession - without pay - for two years.
In honor of Labor Day and the start of school, I want to take a minute of your time to recommend a new biography: Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy by Richard Kahlenberg.
Tough Liberal tells the twin stories of Al Shanker and modern teacher unionism. From the time he helped found the UFT in the 60s through his tenure as President of the AFT up until his death in 1997, Shanker was a force in every important debate over public education.
We often talk about teacher unions as having formed in the early 1900s. But it wasn't until the 1960s that teachers won collective bargaining rights. What stood in the way? The law barred public employees from striking, and so school boards refused to negotiate with teachers unions.
Shanker and his union brothers and sisters decided to force the issue by striking. He bet that the public would side with teachers when they weighed how badly teachers were treated - the low pay, the lack of dignity on the job, the poor working conditions - against the inconvenience a strike would cause, and that the New York City school board would be forced to negotiate.
This was a big gamble. Win and the school board would be forced to the table; lose and the teachers at the core of the union would lose their jobs and the union would lose its credibility. From Tough Liberal:
In 1960, when collective bargaining for teachers was generally thought impossible because it was illegal for public employees to go on strike, Shanker and a handful of other teachers in New York City convinced several thousand colleagues to break the law and risk being fired. Because the school board could not dismiss all the striking teachers, it backed down and eventually recognized the right of the UFT to bargain on behalf of teachers. Other teachers joined on, and from 1960 to 1968, union representation grew from 5 percent of New York City's teaching staff to 97 percent. With collective bargaining came a huge change in the culture of teaching. Teachers were accustomed to being pushed around: they were poorly paid, forced to eat their lunches while supervising students, and told to bring a doctor's note if they were out sick. Collective bargaining brought them higher salaries and also greater dignity.

. . .

The influence of Shanker and his colleagues was felt far beyond New York City, as the UFT's example caught fire and teachers pushed for collective bargaining in Detroit, Philadelphia, and city after city. The nation's largest teachers' organization, the National Education Association (NEA), was adamantly opposed to collective bargaining. But as NEA leaders witnessed the AFT's dramatic gains in membership, the NEA was forced to reverse its position or risk losing its preeminent status.
Al Shanker went to jail for the strike, but he won the bet.
Skip ahead to 1983. Ronald Reagan had appointed a National Commission on Excellence in Education to look at America's schools. The report they released, A Nation at Risk, painted a bleak view of an education system threatened by "a rising tide of mediocrity."
This report was a shot in the battle to privatize public schools. Shanker could have responded by threatening a showdown. He wasn't shy about striking, and he would have been in good company digging in his heels.
Instead, he chose to subvert the right's attack with reform proposals that would give teachers more say in improving schools. From Tough Liberal:
When unions were attacked for protecting incompetent teachers, Shanker backed a controversial "peer-review" plan, in which master teachers would evaluate incoming and veteran teachers, weeding out those not up to the job. He also astounded critics when he proposed a rigorous national competency exam for new teachers, a concept anathema to the NEA. When unions were attacked for opposing efforts to reward talent through "merit pay" of teachers, Shanker devised a plan to recognize superior performance with greater pay without leaving the decisions open to favoritism by principals. He proposed what would become the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which provides for teachers what board certification does for doctors. Each of these policies was offered not merely as a defensive maneuver against critics of teachers' unions but as part of an affirmative vision to make teaching not just an occupation but a true profession.

Shanker also proposed innovations to restructure schools and in 1988 popularized the idea of charter schools, public schools that would be set up by groups of teachers and be permitted to experiment with different educational approaches.

. . .

Shanker's greatest impact on education reform came with his decision to embrace a system of education standards, testing, and accountability comparable to what most leading European and Asian nations had. There was enormous resistance to standards from the left (civil-rights groups, education professors, the NEA) and from the right (advocates of local control and states' rights). But Shanker broke with the education establishment and joined with governors and business leaders to push what today, remarkably, has become the leading education reform in the United States.
As a result, education is still in the public sphere and a function of government. Contrast this to our deregulated energy system and the rampant union busting of the 1980s. Shanker's reform proposals have guided the changes in American schools for the past 25 years. The right's push to privatize schools and their opening salvo in that fight, private school vouchers, has failed to gain traction.
But it was a mixed victory. Even Shanker felt that many of his proposals were distorted in an attempt to make schools more like assembly lines and teachers like cogs in charge of quality control. Witness No Child Left Behind, where national testing goes from being a yardstick to help schools discover what they could be doing better to being the sole focus in the classroom.
I hope these two stories have whetted your interest for Tough Liberal. Reading the book, I think you'll often find yourself nodding in agreement. But Shanker was a controversial figure, and you won't always agree with his choices (I didn't). That's part of why I think you should read it.
Al Shanker operated on a public stage. He wasn't afraid to engage in public fights for what he believed in: protecting teachers and improving schools, as well as the larger ideas of democracy and school as a place where children learn how to be full participants in democracy. He constantly wrestled with how best to do that, and how best to make his argument to teachers and the broader public.
Bloggers face the same challenge of how to influence public debate and public policy. Reading Tough Liberal and debating Shanker's choices is an opportunity to look into the past and use it to guide our future. I hope you enjoy the book, but, even more, I hope it spurs debate on the challenges we face today.
* * *
For more Labor Day reading check out David Sirota's recommended reading list and UNITE HERE President Bruce Raynor's Labor Day blog post at the DMIBLOG.
Steve Perez is the Web Outreach Coordinator at the United Federation of Teachers and blogs regularly at Edwize. The opinions expressed are his own and not necessarily those of the UFT.

Politicker 9/4/2007

2007-09-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

From the Politicker:

School (Blogs) in Session

Here’s the official blog of the United Federation of Teachers.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Blogs United 8/29/2007

2007-08-29T14:46:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8 and Daily Gotham:

New Orleans and the Future of American Education
posted by SteveUFT
[I hope this post by UFT President Randi Weingarten on Hurricane Katrina and its continuing impact on New Orleans schools proves interesting. It's crossposted from Edwize and Eduwonk, where it originally appeared.]
Today we mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The images of widespread destruction and needless suffering and death that flashed across our television screens two years ago remain fresh in our collective memory, if only because they were so stark and terrible. For a moment, the reality of the "other America," living in poverty and shut out of the American dream, became real for all Americans. We were shamed by the knowledge that thousands of people, many of them poor or of color, were left for days and days without essential food, water, shelter, medicine and health care as a result of the catastrophic failure of our government. In the wealthiest and most powerful nation of the world, such a failure was a monumental travesty.
. . . .

Also, front page quick hits at The Albany Project and Blogs United

The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Working Life 8/28/2007

2007-08-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project, Daily Gotham and Working Life:

NYC Rallies for a Child's First Teachers
by: SteveUFT
Mark your calendars: tonight at 7pm is the next step toward bringing New York City's home child care providers into the same union as New York City's public school teachers.
For many New York City families, their child's first teacher is one of the 28,000 home child care providers caring for kids today. Home child care providers take care of kids from low-income families in pre-school and after-school settings, helping them with reading and learning colors and numbers.
But home child care providers aren't protected by a union. Their average salary is $19,000 a year in New York City with no pension, no health insurance and no paid sick days. That makes home child care providers among the lowest-paid workers in the region. Something needs to be done to make sure they get the respect and wages they deserve.
You can help. The UFT, which represents New York City teachers, is launching the largest organizing drive New York has seen in decades to unionize home child care providers. We're holding a kickoff rally tonight, August 28th, and we want to fill the room with 500 supporters. Can you come?
When: Tuesday, August 28th, at 7pm
Where: Alhambra Ballroom at 126th and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd (directions)
We have the opportunity to work with a child's first teachers. Home child care providers work with kids before they come into the school system. Early grade teachers are familiar with the skills and background experiences that will give these kids the best preparation possible when they do start school. Let's work to bring providers and public school teachers together so we can create a seamless transition for kids that starts them off on the right foot.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 8/24/2007

2007-08-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project, and Daily Gotham:

The Teacher Voice in Data-Driven Accountability
by SteveUFT
[This post was written by UFT President Randi Weingarten and crossposted from Edwize and Eduwonk, where it originally appeared.]
We hear a lot these days about what I call "3-D reform," — data-driven decision making and about using tests to improve teaching and learning. Sadly, in this respect, too often, testing has replaced instruction; data has replaced professional judgment; compliance has replaced excellence; and so-called leadership has replaced teacher professionalism.
. . . .

Daily Politics 8/23/2007

2007-08-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

Odds and Ends

Did DOE spokeswoman Julia Levy seek to rig on-line polls on behalf of her boss, Chancellor Joel Klein?

Also in the print edition of the New York Press and the New York Post

Daily Politics, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 8/21/2007

2007-08-21T20:56:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

Odds and Ends

The UFT explains why it supports the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

Also, front page quick hits at The Albany Project and Daily Gotham

The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Blogs United 8/14/2007

2007-08-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

Front page quick hits at Daily Gotham, The Albany Project and Blogs United:

UFT Hails New Middle School Initiative
Submitted by SteveUFT on 14 August 2007 - 4:05pm.
UFT President Randi Weingarten joined City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg to unveil a new initiative to improve academic performance and provide more resources to middle schools.

City Room 8/1/2007

2007-08-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

From City Room:

What We're Reading on the Blogs
The United Federation of Teachers is organizing thousands of home day care workers. [Room Eight]

Full story in the New York Times Google Reader.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham and Blogs United 8/1/2007

2007-08-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8 and The Albany Project:

Major Union Drive in NYC
by: SteveUFT
(The story of these home health care workers has been one of the most inspiring stories in recent memory. Great diary. - promoted by phillip anderson)
28,000 home day care workers in New York City are one step closer to joining the United Federation of Teachers.
Home day care workers in New York receive government subsidies to watch, care for, and educate children from low-income families in pre-school and after-school settings. They provide meals and snacks, direct safe play, and change diapers. They also play a role in educating the children in their care, helping with reading and helping young kids learn colors and numbers and older kids with homework.
Pretty important work, right?
In New York City, home day care workers make an average salary of less than $19,000 a year with no pension, health insurance or paid sick days. That makes them among the lowest-paid workers in the region.
Read more to find out what we're doing about it.
The UFT and the community group ACORN have been working together to unionize home day care workers for about two years. Why is this significant? It's the largest organizing drive in New York in decades. Why the United Federation of Teachers? I'll let UFT Vice President Michelle Bodden explain, in this quote from a guest post at Firedoglake:
"What does this mean for the UFT? Our union undertook the drive to unionize home child care providers for two main reasons - educationally, this is an extraordinary opportunity to work with children's first teachers. Providers see children before they come into the public school system, and many of them want to prepare those children for success. Early grade teachers have a good sense of the skills and background experiences that make the most difference with young children. It is a natural mesh to combine the providers with the public school teachers and create a seamless transition for youngsters with the best preparation possible.

The UFT Teachers Center offers free classes for providers on infant/toddler development through preschoolers. The classes are extremely popular because providers want to learn more about creating high quality educational environments — they want their youngsters to succeed. Eventually, we can create a real leveling of the playing field — making a pathway for low-income students to gain the kind of rich vocabulary and other prerequisites that bode for success in school and in life.

The other reason is exactly the same as the reason why this is a great event for the union movement in general: It is our mission to improve the lives of working people, not just the members we have now, but all working people. Many of the gains of labor, from the minimum wage to a defined workweek, extend to millions of workers who are not in unions."
After counting union cards from more than 12,000 home day care workers, the New York State Employment Relations Board has certified that the UFT and ACORN have surpassed the margin required for the workers to hold an election to join a union. In the words of UFT President Randi Weingarten, "This is a critical milestone in the journey to get New York City's 28,000 home day care providers the respect and wages they need and give the children in their watch the care they deserve."
The next step is for the State Employment Relations Board to schedule an election; we expect that election to take place in late August.
The key to this election will be getting the word out so people know when they need to vote. Rallies, phonebanking and door-to-door campaigning will all play a part, but sites like The Albany Project can help by talking about the election to raise its profile and get more people talking. So let's get the word out!

Also, front page quick hits at Daily Gotham and Blogs United

Progressive Strategy Blog 7/6/2007

2007-07-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

From the Progressive Strategy Blog:

Mark Schmitt on How People Can Organize and Aggregate Power
Yesterday, Mark Schmitt commented at TPMCafe on two other posts, one by Nathan Newman on campaign finance reform, and another by Dan Cantor of the Working Families Party on fusion voting (The Working Families Party is also included in our report on contributions to progressive strategy, "Finding Strategy").

He is not just agreeing with both of them, but uses his commentary to argue that they represent an important and new way of
thinking about the political process, and steps toward reform, that puts people back in -- people, and the possibilities of organized power.
His emphasis on how to enhance the capacity of people to organize and aggregate power is very relevant for our project. The question of how to aggregate power is of particular interest for our project, because most strategies rarely address it. How can progressives accumulate power over time?

I have included the below excerpts to illustrate his approach, and have annotated them from the perspective of our project:

Money, organization, collective debate and action is not bad for democracy but precisely what makes it work:
It's the fundamental hostility to politics that reformers of democracy are prone to. They tend to hold an implicit view of democracy as a process of isolated rational decision-making that must be shielded from bad influences -- money, organized groups, passion.

But those are the very things that make democracy work: participation, and the ability of people to exercise power collectively, to debate and act together. If you see the question in those terms, then things that enhance people's ability to organize and aggregate their power -- whether it is the Wisconsin Right to Life committee or ACORN or a union or the Sierra Club or a political party or moveon.org -- become the solution, not the problem.
Schmitt hopes that progressives will manage to build broader coalitions to move beyond "single-issue politics." But he cautions that such coalitions are fragile, whereas a party is "the ultimate coalition," with the ballot line being a key asset. Fusion voting appears to be an effective way of using that asset:
There will be issue groups, of course, on the right and left, trying desperately to use money and/or membership to be heard, and sometimes being effective. And there will be attempts at broader coalitions, like moveon.org and USAction, and I think (hope) the trend is toward broader progressive coalitions and away from single-issue politics. That's long overdue. But such coalitions, especially at the state level, are fragile, they demand continued energy and there are always as many forces pulling people away as pulling them together. But over time it becomes apparent that the ultimate coalition is a political party. A party is not a letterhead alliance; it's a substantive ongoing operation with a significant asset: a line on the ballot. With fusion, it can share that line or use it for its own purposes. The party can exist both within and outside of the other major parties, as the Working Families Party does in New York. It is a way of organizing people's political passion and power that, for a change, does not depend completely on money.
At the end, he makes a very important suggestion:
The first thing we should ask about any reform is, does it help or hurt the ability of citizens to organize themselves in a political context?
So the challenge for progressive strategy is to generate reforms that not only achieve their substantive goals, but do so in a way that enhances peoples' collective capacity for political organization. Strategy in this sense is as much about process as it is about objectives. This indeed appears to be crucial when it comes to aggregating power in the long run.

TPM Cafe 7/5/2007

2007-07-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

From TPM Cafe:

Political Reform with People In It
By Mark Schmitt | bio
There's a common theme to Nathan Newman's post, "Campaign Finance Reform is Dead; Long Live Clean Money," and Dan Cantor's welcome visit to the "Table for One" to talk about fusion voting and the Working Families Party in New York, and it's not just that I agree with both of them.
Rather, both are pointing toward a new way of thinking about the political process, and steps toward reform, that puts people back in -- people, and the possibilities of organized power.
There's a reason that purely limit-based campaign finance reform will inevitably run into a dead end, as it did in the Supreme Court last week when the Court effectively (and quite predictably) overturned the McCain-Feingold regulation on broadcast ads that mention a candidate for office in the weeks before the election. It's that reformers view the problem as money, particularly "big money," and set out to protect elections (but only elections) from this corrupting force. But in trying to shut out money, they have to go chasing after one loophole after another, and after a while, everything starts to look like a loophole. Yes, an anti-abortion group in Wisconsin running ads calling on Senator Feingold not to oppose Bush's judicial appointments might be -- and in part is -- sending a message to vote against Feingold. But it is also doing what it claims to be doing, which is an expression by an organized group of citizens of a view on an issue -- which is fundamentally protected expression. And that expression can't be neatly separated from elections. If the goal of reform is defined as chasing down big money wherever it is to be found, it will inevitably end up chasing money down rabbit holes where regulation doesn't fit -- and shouldn't. It's a stale, limited, airless way of looking at the problem that doesn't have any room for the complexity and flux of real politics.
(It is telling that reformers denounce the WRTL decision on the grounds that it would put "corporate" money back into politics. Which it would. But what is the "corporation" involved here? It's not Wal-Mart or Halliburton; it's the Wisconsin Right to Life organization itself, an incorporated entity. As are most political or social organizations. Yes, money from for-profit corporations could flow through these organizations, and organizations could be created that are shells. But the WRTL case shows that from fighting "corporate" or organized money, it is very hard to avoid fighting political organization itself.)
This is not just the logical fallacy of limits-based campaign finance reform. It's the fundamental hostility to politics that reformers of democracy are prone to. They tend to hold an implicit view of democracy as a process of isolated rational decision-making that must be shielded from bad influences -- money, organized groups, passion.
But those are the very things that make democracy work: participation, and the ability of people to exercise power collectively, to debate and act together. If you see the question in those terms, then things that enhance people's ability to organize and aggregate their power -- whether it is the Wisconsin Right to Life committee or ACORN or a union or the Sierra Club or a political party or moveon.org -- become the solution, not the problem. As Nathan points out, voluntary full public financing -- which has never yet lost a constitutional challenge and grows more popular by the election in Maine and Arizona -- is one way to enhance speech. These systems require some way to prevent the limited public funds from being overwhelmed by outside money, so they often provide extra funds to candidates who face attacks such as the Wisconsin Right to Life committee's. These provisions might be constitutionally vulnerable on the same basis as the BCRA law, but they are very different and so far they have not been overruled. But systems that use public funds to match small contributions -- small donor democracy -- are a little more flexible and probably have less need for disincentives to outside money, because candidates are not asked to accept a strictly limited and relatively low level of spending. These systems are not just second-best to McCain-Feingold-type limits-based reforms, they are morally and practically superior -- because they retain a greater role for human passion, intensity, and organization -- and we should be grateful to the Court for drawing a line under limits-based reform and quickening the arrival of a new era in which reforms seek to expand the ability for candidates to run and new voices to be heard, rather than restrict it.
Similarly. fusion voting is a modest question on its face: Can a political party sometimes endorse candidates from another party and sometimes run its own candidates, or must it always run its own candidates exclusively? Most people would say, "why not?" to the first part, which is why fusion has some hope of attracting broad support and as a neutral rule, it doesn't obviously advantage any faction. But it has major implications. Without fusion, the only political organizations that can have the clout that comes with a line on the ballot are the broad and clunky coalitions that are the two major parties, or third parties that will usually be symbolic and transient. There will be issue groups, of course, on the right and left, trying desperately to use money and/or membership to be heard, and sometimes being effective. And there will be attempts at broader coalitions, like moveon.org and USAction, and I think (hope) the trend is toward broader progressive coalitions and away from single-issue politics. That's long overdue. But such coalitions, especially at the state level, are fragile, they demand continued energy and there are always as many forces pulling people away as pulling them together. But over time it becomes apparent that the ultimate coalition is a political party. A party is not a letterhead alliance; it's a substantive ongoing operation with a significant asset: a line on the ballot. With fusion, it can share that line or use it for its own purposes. The party can exist both within and outside of the other major parties, as the Working Families Party does in New York. It is a way of organizing people's political passion and power that, for a change, does not depend completely on money.
The first thing we should ask about any reform is, does it help or hurt the ability of citizens to organize themselves in a political context? Limits-based campaign finance reform fails that test. But public financing, especially open-ended matching systems, pass the test, and so does fusion.

An Ordinary Person and Politics in America 7/4/2007

2007-07-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

From An Ordinary Person and Politics in America:

Fusion Voting
From the TPM Cafe, Dan Cantor of New York's Working Families Party explains what Fusion Voting is and how it can benefit third parties.
We have run 3,000-plus candidates on our line since our founding in 1998, and have a solid field and local chapter operation in most parts of the state. But none of it would be possible without the “rules of the game” that make for a more hospitable environment for third parties.
Here is a response from the blog A New America.
If I read this right, this method sounds like a demographic tool to inform the winning candidate which supporters voted under which platform of importance. This is all fine and good, but the cynical part of my brain is asking how this would affect anything.
Here is an old blog post from MyDD
One system I've always been a huge fan of is New York's fusion voting. For those of you unfamiliar, candidates in the state can run on multiple party lines. The state's Conservative and Working Families Parties typically endorse the Republican and Democratic candidates, respectively, but have also been known to shake up elections by endorsing their own candidate.
Here's an interesting discussion on Fusion Voting from the Working Families Party blog:
I don’t mean to be a bore, but third parties without fusion (remember – it was once legal in EVERY state) are just writing themselves out of politics. Run in a close election, and you spoil. Run in a safe Dem district, and you might as well run in the Democratic primary instead.
Liberal Arts Dude sez:
Fusion Voting has intrigued me since I read the book Spoiling for a Fight by Micah Sifry. The book gives significant attention to the Working Families Party and how the party has made successful use of the strategy of Fusion Voting in New York State.
I'd like to learn more, especially if there are any efforts to bring Fusion Voting to other states. Anyone out there have any suggestions on good sources of info?

Hankster 7/3/2007

2007-07-03T08:15:00.000-05:00

From Hankster:

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
New York Working Families Party executive director Dan Cantor talks about fusion voting and why it's a good thing.
Independent Voters Revealed as Anti-War Extremists (Talking Stick Rules blog)
Poll: Who Are the Independents? Study of Politically Unaffiliated Bodes Poorly for GOP (TRANSCRIPT - Washington Post)
Disconnect Between Candidates And Voters (Internet Financial News)

Shakesville 7/2/2007

2007-07-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

From Shakesville:

Back To The Old Drawing Board..
If the last few elections have taught me anything, it’s that we still need to revisit how we handle elections in this country. Voting fraud aside (save that for another post), I have never been convinced that our monolithic two-party system serves us best. How many times have friends or family members spoken about “choosing the lesser of two evils,” or “choosing either is the same as choosing both?” Regardless of majority or minority, neither party ever has anything to lose because they are always represented on the Hill, in one branch or another. As wacky as he might have been, I remember when Ross Perot really shook things up when he dove into the race. I rather liked the idea of shaking up the establishment, because the perception of power loss really whips these people into shape. Our ace in the hole, as it were.

But, how do we buck the system without feeling like we’re throwing away votes that would otherwise ensure an assclown doesn’t get elected?

Dan Cantor, the executive director of the Working Families Party, blogged today at TPMCafe about his ideas on fusion voting:

What is fusion? Also known as open ballot voting or cross-endorsement, fusion allows a candidate to run for office as the standard-bearer of more than one party. Suppose the WFP decides to cross-endorse the Democrat. That candidate will show up twice on the ballot, and voters will get to choose to support him or her on the party line of their choice. The votes will get counted separately but then added together to determine the final outcome of the race.

[…]

So why does it matter? Scott Shields put it well in a MyDD post:
Well, by supporting Eliot Spitzer as a Working Families Party candidate rather than as a Democrat…voters send the message that the issues Working Families champions – universal healthcare, a living wage, strong labor protection – are very important to a significant segment of their base. It also gives independent voters an excuse to vote for major party candidates that they might not otherwise vote for.

If I read this right, this method sounds like a demographic tool to inform the winning candidate which supporters voted under which platform of importance. This is all fine and good, but the cynical part of my brain is asking how this would affect anything. Even if a candidate wins by overwhelming endorsement from WFP voters, why would that fact provide any impetus for the candidate to address WFP’s issues with a higher priority over the candidate’s own party? I’m not seeing how the end result is different than what we already have.

What other election/voting ideas have you come across?

The Albany Project 6/15/2007

2007-06-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

Employee Free Choice Act Vote Next Wednesday
by: SteveWFP

(This is a really important vote. - promoted by lipris)
The Employee Free Choice Act is headed toward a Senate vote next week on Wednesday. The bill has already passed overwhelmingly in the House. Almost all of the New York House delegation voted for it - Tom Reynolds (R-NY 26) and John Kuhl (R-NY 29) were the only New York Reps in opposition - and New York's Senators support the bill. But whether the bill will pass the Senate is in doubt. Find out more about the opposition.
Why is this bill so important? Workers routinely face intimidation from employers when they try to form a union. In 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union. Passing this law will restore American workers' freedom to join unions. And that will help workers improve their lives.
Don't think that's an issue? Listen to Greg Mendez's story.

Greg Mendez is an office systems coordinator at New York's Pace University. In 2004, Mendez and his co-workers sought to form a union with the New York State United Teachers/AFT. They wanted a transparent salary structure and grievance procedure in place of the university's arbitrary system of pay raises and promotions. In response, the university hired anti-worker consultants to run meetings several times a day. Union supporters who tried to speak up at these meetings were publicly attacked. "People got nervous, really nervous," says Mendez. "You would have thought we were trying to overthrow the government." Three years later, Pace University workers still are fighting the administration's campaign of intimidation.
And there are plenty more workers with stories just like Greg's.
In the end, it's all about workers making better lives for themselves and their families. Tell your U.S. Senator to pass the Employee Free Choice Act - and then, even more importanly, tell your friends in other states to take action.

Reform NY 6/8/2007

2007-06-08T11:46:00.000-05:00

From Reform NY:

Not That Anyone Needed Reminding
Everyone has a favorite example of how the Legislature's dysfunction leads to inaction, with little ability on the part of New Yorkers to hold their individual legislators accountable. From the Working Families Blog, which has been particularly focused on paid family leave this week:
There's no better example of Albany dysfunction than a Republican State Senate that says they support giving paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives, but then not actually passing the bill.
More to the point: there's no better example of Albany dysfunction than a majority of members of a chamber saying they support a bill, but never actually voting on it.

The Albany Project 6/8/2007

2007-06-08T11:37:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

Albany Common Council Votes To Support Paid Family Leave
by: SteveWFP

(Excellent. Have YOU signed the petition yet? - promoted by lipris)
With Republicans in the State Senate delaying passage of a paid family leave bill, the Albany Common Council has weighed in and passed a resolution in support of the Working Families Time to Care Act. The resolution urges the local legislative delegation to do all they can to make sure this bill becomes law.
Ward 3 Councilmember Corey Ellis explains her support:
"Time off to care for a newborn shouldn't be a luxury that only some families can afford - it should be a basic cornerstone of our society."
Ward 4 Councilmember Barbara Smith added:
"[The Working Families Time To Care Act would] bring a little bit of much-needed peace of mind to working people across the state."
Sounds right to me. If you agree, sign on in support of paid family leave!

Women's Rights NY 6/8/2007

2007-06-08T00:00:00.001-05:00

From Women's Rights NY:

Working Families Time to Care Act on the Anvil
It's about time! The New York State legislature is considering a piece of legislation, the Working Families Time to Care Act, that would allow workers as much as 12 weeks paid leave to care for family members in need (like newborns, the sick or elderly, children and grandchildren, among others). Only two other states have similar laws, making New York the third state to consider such a plan. And Governor Eliot Spitzer, who fully supports the Act, is working to garner the necessary support for its passage.
As the Working Families Party suggests, even under the Family and Medical Leave Act, workers are forced to "choose between their families and their jobs," as they cannot always afford to take time off to care for family members. The Working Families Time to Care Act would alleviate this problem.
What's most appealing about the Act, though, is its availability to all workers; under the Act, women and men can take time off to care for a newborn child, allowing dads to play a larger role in caring for their children.

Here's what the New York Times had to say about the Act last week.

Or check out the Working Families Party website for further information about the Act.

Postcards From Hell's Kitchen 6/8/2007

2007-06-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

From Postcards From Hell's Kitchen:

Yes to Family Leave!
As the legislative session ends in Albany, the most significant piece of social legislation being debated is paid family leave.
The "Working Families Time to Care Act" would give 12 weeks of paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives. This bill is high on both Governor Spitzer's and Speaker Silver's agenda. Senator Morahan (R-Rockland) is sponsoring a near-to-identical bill in the State Senate. As expected, Senator Bruno is the sticking point, with conflicting signals on what he plans to do.
C'mon Senator Bruno! Support Family Leave!
The issue has recently been covered by the Empire Zone: "they appeared to be close to an agreement that would offer workers up to 12 weeks of family leave to care for newborns or seriously ill family members." The Working Families Party was created to fight for commonsense reforms that will make a positive difference in the lives of working New Yorkers. This is the kind of policy reform that really is good for all of us, especially newborn babies. The bonds that get made in the first weeks of life are enormously important later on, and this policy will make such bonding more likely and stronger. If you have questions, please feel free to check the Working Families Time to Care Act FAQ: You can read continuing coverage of the issue on the Working Families Blog. http://wfpjournal.blogspot.com http://www.newyorkisourhome.com/ http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/

SirotaBLOG 6/7/2007

2007-06-07T23:23:00.000-05:00

From SirotaBLOG:

TAKE ACTION: Help the Working Families Party Pass Paid Family Leave Legislation
Last year, I wrote a San Francisco Chronicle column about the Working Families Party, and how fusion voting in general has led to a real populist powerhouse in New York State. Now, as the Albany Project reports, the party is on the verge of passing paid family leave legislation through the New York legislature. If you live in New York, use this form to get in touch with your state lawmakers today to tell them to support this bill. This is what family values REALLY looks like.

The Albany Project 6/7/2007

2007-06-07T12:04:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

State Senate Stalling Paid Family Leave?
by: SteveWFP

(Surely Uncle Joe would never do such a thing... - promoted by lipris)
Paid family leave was the first topic on the agenda of yesterday's 6-way Leadership Meeting between the Governor, Lt Governor, and majority and minority leaders of the Assembly and Senate. This is the first time the Working Families Time to Care Act has been on the agenda at a public leadership meeting. Today's elevation of the issue came hot on the heels of a less-than-optimistic report that the Republican State Senate wouldn't pass paid family leave.
So how did we do at the leadership meeting?
Initial reports are promising. The talk was overwhelmingly positive. From the Empire Zone:
"they appeared to be close to an agreement that would offer workers up to 12 weeks of family leave to care for newborns or seriously ill family members."
But we're not there yet. Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno warned everyone not to jump to any conclusions about whether the bill would pass, and admitted that some Republican Senators were, in his words, preening for the cameras. The Daily Politics described it this way:
"Everyone made nice noises about family leave"
There's no better example of Albany dysfunction than a Republican State Senate that says they support giving paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives, but then not actually passing the bill. Everyone says they support it. Let's get it done.
Tell your state legislators it's time to give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.
As a bonus, here's an editorial in favor of paid family leave by Karen Schimke, President and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, and Carol Saginaw, Executive Director of the NYS Child Care Coordinating Council, in the Albany Times-Union.

Daily Gotham 6/5/2007

2007-06-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Gotham:

A Shortage of Time, but Not of Ideas
Elana from DMI has a great post over at The Albany Project, pointing out that while New York's legislators are debating ticket scalping and whether sweet corn should be the official state vegetable, quite a few more weighty concerns -- from welfare policy to predatory lending to to family leave (see also Steve WFP's excellent report from the Family Leave Roundtable in Schenectady) -- are waiting to be addressed. She also puts in a plug for DMI's new report:
Some of the issues New York is struggling to handle -- subsidy reform, what to do with criminals when they are released from prison, providing universal access to preschool and the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs -- are real challenges but they aren't insurmountable. In fact four localities around the country did tackle these battles with great success. Want to know more?

Our new report "Lessons from the Marketplace: Four Proven Progressive Policies from DMI’s Marketplace of Ideas
(And how New York can do them even better)" reveals how it all was achieved.

This should be a fruitful time for New York's progressives, with the political wind at our backs. But that means we have more responsibility than ever to stay informed about innovative new policy ideas and opportunities to address longstanding problems. If you haven't already, you should also read the Fiscal Policy Institute's "One New York: An Agenda for Shared Prosperity," which offers a comprehensive analysis of how to make New York's economy fairer and more productive.

We're already late in the 2007 session and there will be a lot of bills competing for attention as the window closes. All the more reason to get our priorities in order -- and also to come back with a clear wish list in the next session.

DMI Blog 6/5/2007

2007-06-05T06:47:00.000-05:00

From DMI Blog:

corn & ticket scalpers vs. policies you care about

As the New York State legislature wraps-up their 2007 session some interesting bills have come to light, like the bill to make sweet corn the official state vegetable and a bill that will help ticket scalpers. Clearly this is the kind of legislation that keeps New York State residents up at night asking existential questions like "what role does sweet corn play in my life?" or "how far from a stadium can I buy re-sold Yankees tickets?". Well I guess if you are involved in the racing industry that scalpers' bill is a big deal but what about the rest of us? What's in the state's legislative hopper?

Last week DMI Fellow Maureen Lane wrote about a sensible welfare policy bill that has the potential to help move people out of poverty. So far it hasn't been introduced by the State Senate. DMI Fellow Mark Winston Griffith blogged about model anti-predatory lending legislation that New Yorkers for Responsible Lending is working to call attention to. The city is now waiting to see if the legislature will approve Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 including its congestion pricing proposals. The Working Families Party has been doing amazing work around the Working Families Time to Care Act which is their legislative priority this year. And as always, The Albany Project has been doing an incredible job keeping track of the legislative goings-ons.

Yet at the end of the day while the legislature is wrestling with the question of who gets to make a whole bunch of money selling tickets there really are serious problems that need to be addressed by the state government. Some of the issues New York is struggling to handle -- subsidy reform, what to do with criminals when they are released from prison, providing universal access to preschool and the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs -- are real challenges but they aren't insurmountable. In fact four localities around the country did tackle these battles with great success. Want to know more?

Our new report "Lessons from the Marketplace: Four Proven Progressive Policies from DMI's Marketplace of Ideas (And how New York can do them even better)" reveals how it all was achieved.

Now I know it's a cliche that the state legislature "doesn't do anything" and that's not even my point here. Simply that as they go about the business of the state not all issues are equally urgent and a lot of other parts in the country have implemented policies that New York can learn a lot from. Is that too much to ask? But in the meantime, "Gentlemen, behold! Corn!"

The Albany Project 6/4/2007

2007-06-04T15:12:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

Family Leave Roundtable in Schenectady
by: SteveWFP

(Great report from this event. - promoted by lipris)
Last Thursday, Legislator Gary Hughes; Legislator Ed Kosiur, Vice Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature; Schenectady County Legislator Vince DiCerbo and Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton listened to Mia Puertas, working mother to Jada Puertas, and Doug Williams, working father to Maya and husband to Marie, talk about why they support the Working Families Time to Care Act.

When Mia was pregnant with Jada, her employer didn't offer any form of family leave. Mia had to choose between taking time off to care for Jada or going back to work right away. Mia took unpaid leave, and ended up leaving her job because of the inadequate benefits. Here's why Mia Puertas supports the Working Families Time to Care Act:
"This is crucial bonding time for the parent to have with the child, which no mother should be denied. . . However, my job did not provide me with any paid leave, and I had to take unpaid leave. . . I am willing to take a stand for the mothers that are facing this obstacle, so they don't have to go through the struggle that I was faced with at the time. . . After Jada's birth, I was feeling the same emotions that every new mother feels: exhaustion, overwhelmed, stressed. Adding financial worry was the last thing I needed at the time.

I have first hand experience in needing this benefit, and, when it was not available, I had to make choices that new mothers should not have to make in an already stressful time. This legislation should be passed because it will help working families, like mine, take care of each other in the times they need it most."
When Doug's daughter Maya was born, he was offered 4 weeks of paid leave. Doug used that time to bond with his wife and new daughter. Here's how Doug describes his experience:
"I was grateful to be able to spend four weeks of paid time with my wife and new daughter. I didn't get a vacation that year, but it was worth it to be able to spend time with them. But, somehow, four weeks just doesn't seem like enough time. With the Working Families Time to Care Act, I would have been able to spend up to 12 weeks with her!"
Then, Doug's wife, Marie, suffered a heart attack last year. Doug once again struggled to balance family and work:
"I was able to take the time off, but it meant exhausting all my vacation time and sick leave. Because this didn't add up to enough time, I did have to take a few unpaid days off. I needed to take care of my wife, even if it meant giving up my vacation time that year."
You couldn't help but be moved listening to Mia and Doug, and Legislator Gary Hughes gave us the good news that:
"The Schenectady County Legislature supports the Working Families Time to Care Act and we will be introducing a resolution in support of the bill at our next meeting [on June 12th]. It is time for us to make it easier for working families to take care of each other"
But we still need action in Albany. That's where you can make a difference.
Tell your state legislators it's time to give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.

Progressive Wednesday 6/4/2007

2007-06-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

From Progressive Wednesday:

The world's most important job should be a paid position (at least for a few weeks)
I'm a stay-at-home-dad. I love it. I don't think that there is a more rewarding job anywhere on the planet as taking care of your wee one. Go ahead and judge me if you want. I'm a bit too progressive to care. Raising our daughter is something that I want to do, and I take great pride in her perpetual happiness. And because my wife is a veterinarian, we are afforded the ability to have a stay-at-home-parent, though just barely. Unfortunately, this is not the case for most families. Here are some rather embarrassingly regressive statistics.

Less than ten percent of American workers get paid time off to take care of family members at times of extreme need.
Seventy-eight percent of people who need family leave can’t afford to take it.
Roughly half of all personal bankruptcies result from health care-related crises.

In my home state of New York, we have a political party called the Working Families Party, whose main goals are to promote better and more affordable health care, higher wages for the lower and middle classes, and better education for our young ones. They usually endorse the most progressive major candidate. Through the use of open-balloting, you can choose to vote for the candidate that the party endorses to show how important these issues are to you without wasting your vote.

The Working Families Party is sponsoring legislation called the Working Families Time to Care Act. Here's what it does in the proverbial nutshell:

The Working Families Time to Care Act would expand New York's existing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program to also cover family needs (e.g., leave for either parent to care for newborns or newly adopted children or for seriously ill family members).
Workers would receive up to 12 weeks of benefits with a maximum of $17o a week, funded through a modest (43 cents a week) increase in premiums paid within the existing TDI program.

The bill would make New York State the most progressive in the country in terms of medical and maternity leave. According to the New York Times:

Mr. Spitzer's plan would be more expansive than the paid leave in Washington State, which is limited to caring for newborns and newly adopted children, and in California, which covers workers caring for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse or domestic partner. Mr. Spitzer's plan would also cover workers who take off to care for grandchildren, foster parents and parents-in-law.

Critics say the benefits are far too low. While I agree with that, this is an important first step in getting family leave to where it should be. It has passed through the State Assembly but has temporarily stalled in the State Senate. But with a little help from us, they'll come around. Governor Spitzer has already dipped his pen and is ready to sign. So hop on over to the Working Families website to sign their letter to New York State legislators so that others can afford to raise their newborns and help sick family members. And maybe they can even avoid having to file for bankruptcy protection.

Room 8 and The Albany Project 5/30/2007

2007-05-30T15:51:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at Room 8 and The Albany Project:

Sept 18 is the New Primary Day - Dates to Know
by: SteveWFP
(Good stuff here. - promoted by lipris)
Now that the Governor has signed legislation moving New York's Primary Election to September 18, here are some new key dates:

June 12: First day to sign petitions
July 16 - 19: Days when petitions can be filed
July 23: Last day to file "Wilson Pakulas"
September 18: Primary Election
September 20 - 28: Judicial District Conventions
The Board of Elections has an election calendar (pdf) with more of the dates candidates will need to know.
Here's a quick explanation:
Candidates need to petition their way on to the ballot. Those petitions need to be collected within a specified time period that starts June 12th and ends July 19th. If a candidate wants to be cross endorsed by a party that they're not a member of, the appropriate committee of that party needs to issue a "Wilson Pakula" to that candidate (this is what allows fusion candidates). Then the primary election happens on September 18.
Supreme Court Judges, interestingly enough, aren't nominated directly. Instead, delegates are elected on primary day, and those delegates nominate the party's candidate for Supreme Court Judge at the party's Judicial District Convention, which now takes place between September 20 and September 28. This process for nominating Supreme Court Judges has been challenged in court, so there may be more changes next year.
Working Families Party Chapters are interviewing candidates now. More information on the WFP nomination process here.

The Albany Project 5/29/2007

2007-05-29T15:09:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

Family Leave Roundtable on Long Island
by: SteveWFP

(Very cool. - promoted by lipris)
"We don't live in the 1950s anymore. With both parents working, we need policies in place that support couples when they decide to start a family or need to take time off to care for an ailing parent. That's what the Working Families Time to Care Act would do."
That's Suffolk County Legislator Kate Browning (D-WFP), speaking at last Friday's Family Leave Roundtable in Mastic on Long Island. The roundtable was put together by the Working Families Party to give working parents who have wrestled with the decision of how soon to return to their jobs after having a child the chance to talk about the need for better state family leave policies to care for new kids and ailing relatives.
Here's retired probation officer Regina Corby-Graham of Mastic speaking at the roundtable:
Ann Seifried of South Huntington, an economic development officer for manufacturing jobs, added,
"I shouldn't have to choose between my responsility to my job and my responsbility to my daughter. I have to do right by both, and our policies should reflect that."
Here's more from Ann:
The Working Families Party supports the Working Families Time to Care Act, which would allow working families to take care of each other in times of need without risking financial hardship.
Suffolk County Legislator Kate Browning (D-WFP) spoke about her own experiences and about the Working Families Time to Care Act:
Show your support by signing our card with a message. This is your chance to tell your state legislators it's time to give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.
Sign the card today!

NYC IndyMedia 5/28/2007

2007-05-28T13:55:00.000-05:00

From NYC IndyMedia:

Report Back: 5/23 New York Is Our Home Rally and March

An estimated 7,000 people from dozens of community oganizations rallied and marched from Stuy-Town to Union Village on Wednesday.

By Matt S

On Wednesday, May 23rd, and estimated 7,000 people, representing over 90 community and tenant organizations tenant rallied outside of Stuyvesant Town for the launch of the New York is Our Home Affordable Housing Campaign.

On Wednesday, May 23rd, and estimated 7,000 people, representing over 90 community and tenant organizations tenant rallied outside of Stuyvesant Town for the launch of the New York is Our Home Affordable Housing Campaign.
The rally started at 5pm with groups taking positions in the streets surrounding Stuyvesant Town and Peter Copper Village (14th Street to 23rd Street, between 1st Avenue and Avenue C). The goal of the “Hands Around Stuy Town” rally was to gather enough people to form a human chain around the housing complex. I stood with a group on 18th Street and Avenue C, where there was a shortage of demonstrators until 5:30 or so. At approximately 5:45, the demonstrators joined hands, achieving the human chain.
Demonstrators then marched across 14th Street to Union Square Park. Signs reading "Save Our Homes" were plentiful as well as chants of "Affordable Housing Now!" and "Si Se Puede" (Yes We Can!). The range of groups represented at the event became much more clear during the march, as the participating groups intermingled. Groups representing each borough and dozens of neighborhoods were present: the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association, GOLES, ACORN, the Working Families Party, and many, many more.>
The scene was relatively calm as marchers filed down 14th Street, with two lanes of the north side closed to car traffic. The police were, as far as I saw, well behaved and only interfered with demonstrators who seemed to wander toward the south side of the street. I reached the end of the march, at 17th Street and Union Square East, at 6:30pm.
The New York is Our Home Campaign website ( http://newyorkisourhome.blogspot.com) includes a summary of the event and details some of the Campaign's upcoming actions including a project to map rent hikes across the city and a trip to Albany on June 5th to lobby for statewide housing reform legislation.

Housing Works AIDS Update 5/25/2007

2007-05-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

From Housing Works AIDS Update:

RING OF IRE

Activists surround Stuy Town to save affordable housing (but where's the media on the HIV rent-cap demand?); HASA for All campaign keeps on going
What a shame! What a pity! We can't live in New York City!

So cheered some 5,000 to 7,000 New Yorkers at the "Hands Across Stuyvesant Town" rally that launched the New York Is Our Home affordable housing campaign on Wednesday, May 23. It's not clear whether the rally's gimmick—forming a human chain around the massive middle-income Stuyvesant Town complex—really happened — but the event attracted a diverse crowd of passionate tenant's rights, housing, and homeless advocates, including HIV/AIDS organizations like Housing Works and the New York City AIDS Housing Network. A handful of pols turned out, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Comptroller William Thompson, HIV-positive State Senator Tom Duane and State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried.

The march called attention to the problem of the shrinking supply of affordable housing in New York and demanded a handful of reforms, including ending rent destabilization and protecting and expanding Section 8 and Mitchell-Lama housing. Unfortunately, mainstream press failed to mention one of the campaign's other demands: a statewide cap of 30 percent on the amount of money low-income HIV-positive people must put toward their rent. (Then again, the New York Times didn't even cover the demo.) New York is Our Home hits Albany on June 5 to push for Mitchell-Lama reform and is creating a map of rent increases (help 'em out with it).
[post edited for length; read the rest here]

From the Frontline 5/24/2007

2007-05-24T12:00:00.001-05:00

From the From the Frontline:

Affordable Rent March and Rally A Success
Staff from Strycker's Bay attended yesterday's March and Rally organized by a coalition of housing groups, the NYC Central Labor Council, & the Working Families Party -- New York Is Our Home -- Affordable Rent Campaign is working to
- Repeal vacancy decontrol
- Preserve Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 housing
- Stop unfair rent increases and harassment
- Ensure adequate State and City funding for public housing
- Limit rental payments for all people living with AIDS to 30% of income
For more information about New York Is Our Home go to:
http://newyorkisourhome.blogspot.com/

Politicker 5/24/2007

2007-05-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

From the Politicker:

Ed Ott Gets Going on Affordable Housing
Practically every major Democrat in the city was at the corner of 14th Street and First Avenue yesterday afternoon to announce the formation of a what they say is the largest housing coalition in the city’s history.

The group, New York Is Our Home, includes labor and tenant groups, the Working Families Party and others.

The most heated rhetoric (video here) came from the Central Labor Council's Ed Ott, who said, "The price of housing in this city is effectively theft" and that affordable housing units, like the ones in Stuyvesant Town behind him, "are being stolen by the greed of developers and the market."

Which drew applause and energetic head nods from the crowd of elected officials behind him.

In attendance at the rally were Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Betsy Gotbaum, Tom Duane, John Sabini, Ruben Diaz, Jr., Keith Wright, Jonathan Bing, Linda Rosenthal, Dan Garodnick, Eric Gioia and Charles Barron, among others. Most of them spoke but none matched Ott’s directness.
After the speeches, the group formed a human chain around Stuy Town, which is several blocks long, and marched down to Union Square.
UPDATE: Adolfo Carrion, Brian Kavanagh and Adam Clayton Powell IV also attended.

Daily Intelligencer 5/24/2007

2007-05-24T09:08:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Intelligencer:

Hands Across the East Village
Proving that everything eighties is hot again, an estimated 7,000 New York City tenants and tenant activists formed a human chain around the massive, recently sold, increasingly rent-destabilized Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village apartment complex last night — it's Hands Across the East Village! — to protest rising rents and demand state laws to protect affordable housing. But did they really, really ring that big old thing, which stretches from 14th to 23rd Streets and First Avenue to Avenue C?
"It wasn't exactly even, but we did pretty much get a full encirclement, or circle, or whatever," reported Chloe Tribich of New York Is Our Home, a new campaign that kicked off with the rally. "I ran around it." Another organizer, Jennifer Flynn of New York City AIDS Housing Network, credited a few last-minute busloads of folks from Brooklyn ACORN with filling in the major gaps near 23rd and C. And the activist-y Rude Mechanical Orchestra provided marching-band accompaniment.

Everyone then marched toward Union Square, led by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and a gaggle of council members. (Other boldfacers on hand included Comptroller Bill Thompson, teachers' union chief Randi Weingarten, Central Labor Council titan Ed Ott, and state legislators Tom Duane and Richard Gottfried.) Organizers say the shindig came off without incident — apparently so, because, when contacted, the NYPD media desk said it hadn’t even heard about it. New York Is Our Home's next effort will come on June 5, when the gang is scheduled to descend on Albany to get the Senate to vote for a law protecting Mitchell-Lama affordable housing, according to organizer Julie Miles. (Another goal: stripping landlords of the ability to de-control units once they’re vacated.) "We're at a boiling-point moment," Miles said. "I think people are ready to make this issue a litmus test for officials."
John Marsh certainly is. One of the 2,000-odd complex residents at yesterday’s ring-in, the data-security consultant has lived there all his life and suspects that Tishman-Speyer, the new owner, wants to separate him from his $1,250-a-month, rent-stabilized apartment. Now that even market-rate tenants are seeing 33 percent rent hikes, the whole complex is uniting against fear of a co-op conversion, he said. "It's completely out of control," he added, noting that, in a fantasy, he inhabits an 1800s converted townhouse in the West Village. Don't we all?

Daily Politics 5/23/2007

2007-05-23T18:16:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

Odds and Ends

A new affordable housing coalition has formed.

Empire Zone 5/23/2007

2007-05-23T16:18:00.000-05:00

From the Empire Zone:

Hands Across the Complex
It has been 21 years since Hands Across America, when on May 25, 1986, some five million people joined hands in a line to Long Beach, Calif., from New York to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness.

A similarly minded endeavor is planned for this evening in Manhattan. At least 7,000 people are expected to join hands and form a ring around Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, from East 14th to 23rd Streets on First Avenue, at 5:15 p.m. today to protest rising housing costs. Nearly 100 housing, labor and political groups, including the New York City Central Labor Council, the Working Families Party and Acorn (the Association of Community Organizations Reform Now), joined the New York Is Our Home! Affordable Rent Campaign, said Evan Thies, a spokesman for the coalition.

Fifty state legislators have endorsed the campaign and at least 2,000 residents of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town are expected to attend the rally. After holding hands for up to 30 minutes, the group is scheduled to march toward Union Square.

In October, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company agreed to sell the two giant complexes Tishman Speyer Properties and the real estate arm of BlackRock for $5.4 billion. Although most of the 25,000 residents are protected by rent stabilization laws, city officials have expressed concern that the new owners, by investing heavily in improving the properties, could speed up the process of removing units from the protection of those laws.

Curbed 5/23/2007

2007-05-23T12:00:00.002-05:00

From Curbed:

Heading to Stuy Town Today? Bring Purell
Today will certainly be an interesting one in the recent history of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, because today is the day when the people take the power back! Or something. Yep, at 5pm "Hands Across Stuy Town" will kick off, and 7,000 people are expected to take part in the gigantoid affordable housing rally. For new Stuy Town/PCV owners Tishman-Speyer, it looks like you can only have so many broker parties, rebrandings, rent hikes and private detectives before tenants start getting suspicious. Ever since the great Lower East Side cocktease of 2005, we've been waiting for a good human chain, so don't let us down, Stuy T.
· Save the Date [newyorkisourhome.blogspot.com]
· Affordable housing rally to hit Stuy Town [The Real Deal]

Dias y Flores Community Garden 5/23/2007

2007-05-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

From Dias y Flores Community Garden:

New York is Our Home: Rally for Affordable Housing

Via the New York is Our Home! blog:

You’re invited - RSVP today! Meet May 23rd between 14th and 23rd Street on 1st Avenue in Manhattan at 5pm sharp. RSVP online or contact Chloe Tribich for more information. Here’s the rally flier in English (pdf) and en Espanol (pdf) - download it and pass it out in your building!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
May 23rd Affordable Housing Rally - RSVP Today!

What: “Hands Around Stuy Town” Affordable Housing March and Rally.

Why: Because rent is out of control, and New York Is Our Home!

When: Wednesday, May 23rd, at 5pm sharp

Where: Stuyvesant Town between 14th and 23rd Street on 1st Avenue in Manhattan

Who: You and ~~6,000~~7,000 other New Yorkers who care about affordable housing and are willing to stand up and be counted.

How: RSVP today!

Always complaining about the cost of housing in New York? Do something about it. An unprecedented coalition including the Working Families Party, labor unions, and nearly every housing organization in New York City and led by Housing Here and Now has united to form New York is Our Home.

We’re launching a massive, grassroots campaign to break the logjam in Albany and protect our homes. And we’re kicking things off with a rally and march at Stuy Town on May 23rd.

We’re holding the rally at Stuy Town, but it’s a rally for all New Yorkers. It’s a rally about the threat to Starrett City. It’s about the nearly 1.5 million existing affordable units we’re at risk of losing. It’s about what’s happening to housing prices all over New York City and the rising price of housing that we’re all struggling with.

Will New York City be taken over by luxury condos? New York Is Our Home believes in a New York City in which working families have just as much right to live as hedge fund managers. This is your chance to stand up and be counted.

Politicker 5/23/2007

2007-05-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

From the Politicker:

Elsewhere: Clinton, Quinn, Mondello
And pictured above is Christine Quinn at a housing rally at Stuyvesant Town this afternoon where a new housing coalition was unveiled.

The Real Estate 5/22/2007

2007-05-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

From The Real Estate:

10,000 Expected at Affordable Housing Rally
The Working Families Party, labor unions and housing groups are holding a rally tomorrow afternoon in which they plan to form a human chain, 10,000 links long, surrounding Stuyvesant Town.

Someone, please, hire a helicopter and take this aerial shot. For a more substantive discussion of the issues, see the Web site New York is Our Home.

Funky Brown Chick 5/22/2007

2007-05-22T07:58:00.000-05:00

From Funky Brown Chick:

Living Just Enough for the City
This blog is about my life and my dates in New York City. And, I'd feel like an evil soulless bitch from hell if I didn't take this opportunity to draw your attention to an issue that affects the lives of the vast majority of New Yorkers (self included): affordable housing. If you don't live in New York, the term "affordable housing" might be synonymous with "poor" or "section 8" or something like that. If you live in New York, you know all too well that affordable housing is a pressing issue for most middle-class, professional people.

I don't think that the question of affordable housing is more "important" because it now affects people like me and my friends. The issue was *already* important. It's just finally getting the attention that it deserves because the people that it now affects actually vote. It's one thing to screw over poor, disenfranchised non-voters. It's another thing to screw over and piss of your voting constituency. So, if you live in New York and you pay waaay too much for rent, come to the affordable housing rally tomorrow:

WHAT: Affordable housing rally
WHEN: Wednesday, May 23rd
WHERE: Between 14th and 23rd Streets on 1st Avenue
TIME: 5:00pm sharp (lasts until 8ish, so meet at Union Square later if you can't make it at 5)
URL: http://newyorkisourhome.blogspot.com/

Daily Politics 5/22/2007

2007-05-22T06:58:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

News Of The Day
The DN's Bill Hammond is a supporter of paid family leave, which is working its way toward becoming law in New York.

Daily News 5/22/2007

2007-05-22T04:00:00.000-05:00

From the Daily News:

He's a family man
The 14 best days of my life were the ones I spent with my wife and newborn son and, two years later, with our baby daughter. For a week after each arrival, I stayed home from work, changed dirty diapers, got no sleep and cherished every minute.
No father should be denied the chance to get spitup on his shirt, and bond with his kids. Yet all too many workers miss critical family moments because they just can't afford to skip paychecks.
Federal law gives most workers a right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave when a baby arrives or when a close family member gets seriously ill. But that law doesn't help pay the rent or put food on the table.
This is why the Working Families Time to Care Act is an idea whose time has come. Under the labor-backed proposal - as improved by Gov. Spitzer - people staying home to cope with family emergencies could collect disability benefits equal to half their pay, or up to $170 a week, for as many as 12 weeks.
This is no free lunch. Workers would have an estimated 45 cents a week deducted from their paychecks to cover the cost. But it's a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind.
"At the lower end of the financial ladder, people really do have to choose between their family's physical well-being and their financial well-being," Terri Gerstein, Spitzer's deputy labor commissioner, told me. "If we can ameliorate that even a little bit, that's good."
If the proposal becomes law - as seems likely - New York would move to the cutting edge of family-friendly states. California adopted a paid family leave law in 2002 and Washington followed suit this year.
Internationally, however, the United States is way behind the curve. Researchers at Harvard and McGill universities reported this year that the U.S. was one of only five nations, out of 173 studied, that did not provide some guarantee of paid maternity leave. That puts the wealthiest nation on the face of the Earth in the same bracket as Lesotho and Liberia.
To business leaders nervous about opening the door to a new mandate, the California experience should be reassuring. Both the number of workers claiming benefits and the overall cost have been less than originally expected, state officials report.
Business leaders also should thank Spitzer for shielding them from the cost of the program. As originally proposed by the Working Families Party and the AFL-CIO, the bill called for employers to eat the higher premiums. Spitzer rejected that approach and went with a social insurance model.
That was the right thing for the governor to do. Businesses don't need another reason to avoid New York. And lawmakers who think the benefits are too skimpy won't be so tempted to give away the store if they know they're hitting every single working man and woman in the pocketbook.
Instead, Spitzer is essentially asking folks around the office to chip in for the woman who's about to have a baby, or the guy whose father just had a stroke.
People like Carol Hart-Alexander of Jamaica, Queens, who wanted to spend as much time as possible with her terminally ill mother in the mid-1990s. She and her siblings used their vacation time to keep vigil. But if her mother had lasted much longer, Hart-Alexander says, she would have had to go back to her job at the phone company. A leave was not an option.
"I was a single parent," she said. "No way I could have taken time without pay."
That's a situation no New Yorker should have to face.

Daily Politics 5/21/2007

2007-05-21T12:36:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

WFP Turns Up The Heat On Affordable Housing

Working Family Party members will start canvassing this week in the districts of two Queens Republicans - Frank Padavan and Serph Maltese - dropping flyers that accuse the senators of "putting special interests ahead of working families" when it comes to affordable housing.

At issue is legislation that would extend rent regulations to all buildings that leave subsidy programs like Section 8 and Mitchell-Lama - a particularly big deal at the moment given the ongoing threat of the Starrett City sale.

Padavan himself is sponsoring one of the bills in question, but it hasn't moved out of committee.

Wednesday, the WFP will join with affordable housing and tenants-rights groups, labor unions and elected officials for a rally at Manhattan's Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village to call for rent reforms that would preserve the city's ever-dwindling affordable housing stock.

Organizers hope to draw up to 10,000 people and form a "human chain" around the buildings, which were sold for $5.4 billion last fall in one of the biggest residential real estate deals in history.

The number of groups smelling blood in the water and targeting marginal members of the Senate GOP conference just keeps growing.

Aside from this effort by the WFP, which was among the first to back Gov. Eliot Spitzer's gubernatorial bid and was instrumental in Sen. Craig Johnson's special election win in February, there's also NARAL Pro-Choice NY, another Spitzer ally, which is planning to push marginal Republicans on abortion rights.

Gotham Gazette 5/21/2007

2007-05-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

From the Gotham Gazette:

What They're Saying
And – surprise – the Post goes after Governor Eliot Spitzer, this time for wanting businesses to have insurance to cover paid family leave for workers. Not only is this another tax on the beleaguered private sector in the Post's view, but it serves as an indication that Spitzer wants New York to resemble France. Non, non, non, cher Eliot!

Daily Politics 5/21/2007

2007-05-21T08:13:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

News Of The Day
The Post slams Spitzer on his support of paid family leave.

Daily Gotham 5/20/2007

2007-05-20T21:43:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Gotham:

Affordable Housing Rally; Wednesday, May 23, 5-7PM
The punch line of this post is that you should attend the rally and demonstration on Wednesday May 23, 2007 which begins in front of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village (1th Ave. & 14th St.) at 5PM and is scheduled to last till 7PM (but as you know, the events sometimes run longer.) If you can stand reading post-jump part of the post, I ask you to send Governor Spitzer a letter. If you can't weave your way through the twists, flip to the end and send the letter without reading it.

The demonstration, called to kick off a campaign to protect and extend rent regulation in NYC has been called by a broad coalition of labor unions, community organizations, churches and political groups including the Working Families Party and many Democratic clubs including the one to which I belong. The full, huge, list of coalition members is at the New York Is Our Home website.

The demonstration focuses on six demands on state government:
End Vacancy Decontrol
Home rule for NYC rent regulation
Preserve Mitchell Lama & Section 8 Housing
End unfair rent increase & harassment
State funding for NYC public housing
Limit rental payments for indigent people with HIV/AIDS to 30% of income.
The issues around affordable housing are so complex, it makes me wilt to try to write about them. At the same time, they are extremely simple. Affordable housing is disappearing in NYC. Burning hot real estate values prompt owners seeking windfall profits to deregulate rental units.
[post edited for length; read the rest here]

PR Dream 5/18/2007

2007-05-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

From Puerto Rico and the American Dream:

Get on the Bus! "New York Is Our Home" Rally Around Stuyvesant Town - May 23rd
Hope Community has joined an unprecedented coalition, "New York is Our Home Affordable Rent Campaign," that is working to cover more housing under rent stabilization rules and to strengthen rent regulations. Among the issues to be addressed at the May 23rd rally are:

- Preserve Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 Housing
- Preserve Rent-Regulated Units
- Preserve State-Built Public Housing
- Limit Rental Payments for New Yorkers Living With AIDS

If you would like to join the East Harlem contingent to the May 23rd rally, please contact David Dodge from Community Voices Heard at (212) 860-6001.

View the flyer (PDF).

New York Sun 5/18/2007

2007-05-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

From the New York Sun:

Spitzer Floats Plan To Woo Labor
The paid leave bill was a top legislative priority for the labor-backed Working Families Party, a rising third party that was one of the first groups to have endorsed Mr. Spitzer's candidacy for governor.
The party also helped run the field operation of Craig Johnson's state Senate campaign on Long Island. The victory of Mr. Johnson, a Democrat, helped further the governor's quest to oust Republicans from power in the Senate.
[post edited for length; read the rest here]

Our Albany Observer 5/17/2007

2007-05-17T18:02:00.000-05:00

From Our Albany Observer:

Morahan shepherds family leave bill
The Daily News' Bill Hammond reports that state Sen. Tom Morahan, R-New City, is carrying the Working Families Party's much-desired family leave legislation through the Senate.

The Real Deal 5/17/2007

2007-05-17T17:06:00.000-05:00

From The Real Deal:

Affordable housing rally to hit Stuy Town
Approximately 7,000 people are expected to encircle Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village during a rally this Wednesday afternoon. The rally's organizers are looking to draw attention to what they say is a citywide decline in affordable rents. The groups behind the gathering--which include the New York is Our Home campaign, the Working Families Party and the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association--plan to unveil a series of policy proposals. more

Daily Politics 5/17/2007

2007-05-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

WFP coup No. 2

Having just allowed day-care workers to unionize, which was the Working Families Party's top priority last year, Gov. Spitzer is now sponsoring paid family leave legislation, which is the WFP's top priority this year.

Under Spitzer's bill -- quietly introduced last week by GOP Sen. Thomas Morahan of Rockland County -- workers who need time off to take care for a child or sick relative (including domestic partners) would be entitled to as many as 12 weeks at half pay, up to a maximum of $170 a week. The bill sets the premium at 45 cents a week and authorizes employers to deduct it from paychecks.

These provisions appear to be identical to the WFP's "Working Families Time to Care Act."

UPDATE: There is at least one key difference: While the WFP bill expects employers to pick up the cost, the governor's bill gives them the option of shifting the cost to workers.

The Assembly has not yet introduced Spitzer's proposal, but it has passed a very similar bill several times before. One significant difference: The Assembly's bill extends to government employers, while Spitzer's does not.

In the U.S., this is pretty cutting-edge stuff. The only other state to adopt such a law is California, in 2002. According to the WFP, however, we're one of only five countries in the world that do not provide paid time off to care for newborn children, the others being Swaziland, Lesotho, Liberia and Papua New Guinea.

As far as I can remember, Spitzer has never once mentioned paid family leave as being on his to-do list, either on the campaign trail or since taking office. From what I hear, though, he's making a "heavy-duty, behind-the-scenes push" to get this done.

Lucid Culture 5/16/2007

2007-05-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

From Lucid Culture:

Rally for Affordable Housing May 23rd
On Wednesday, May 23rd, New Yorkers will rally in support of New York is Our Home, a broad coalition of advocacy groups and labor unions campaigning for the preservation and creation of affordable housing opportunities in New York City.
Meet up with a team representing Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn for the rally and march on May 23rd at 5 p.m., at the corner of First Avenue and 15th Street in Manhattan (in front of the Chase Bank on the west side of First Avenue). Wear your Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn t-shirt if you have one and join with thousands of other demonstrators in forming a human chain around Stuyvesant Town.

For more information on the event, please visit www.newyorkisourhome.com.

Danger Democrat 5/14/2007

2007-05-14T06:56:00.000-05:00

From Danger Democrat:

Too much democracy?
Last weekend the Working Families Party started interviewing candidates that they might endorse for their ballot line. It occured to DD that this is one of the most politically healthy operational details that any current political party does. They interview and then the dues paying membership gets a chance to vote on which candidates will be awarded the line. That's way too much democracy for any of the other parties including my own. Good for the WFP.

Jason Gooljar 5/13/2007

2007-05-13T12:12:00.000-05:00

From Jason Gooljar's blog:

WFP Chapter candidate screenings

Yesterday, was the first day that the Westchester-Putnam chapter of the Working Families Party began screening candidates for the 2007 endorsement. As a dues paying member of the chapter (sustainer) you are allowed to participate in these screenings and you even have a vote which carries influence with the executive committee of the state party later on. This is one of the most open and inviting processes that any party in this state has. I took part in this for the first time last year and it was really a great opportunity to grill the candidates on the issues that are important to the party. I highly recommend people joining the party and participating in their local chapters. And if there isn’t a chapter in your area yet. I’d say find out how to start one!

The Albany Project 5/11/2007

2007-05-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

Front page blog post at The Albany Project:

Happy Mother's Day!
by: SteveWFP

(Awesome. - promoted by lipris)
As the breadwinner in my family (my husband lost his job last year) and the mother of a 1-1/2 year old with another on its way I am not in a position to forfeit 1, 2 or 3 months worth of pay. And going back to work sooner than 12 weeks is cruel and unhealthy to both the mother and the child. It is simply wrong that the U.S. does not provide the same benefits other developed countries do. And shocking.
- Lauren in New York City
As the mother of a 2 year old who was premature, I cannot stress how helpful paid time off would have been in our situation. It's time that NY demonstrates how it values families by paying leave!
- Jeanette in Blasdell
I had to purchase expensive disability insurance to cover post-birth income. And that only lasts 6 weeks and amounted to a small portion of my salary. We need to do a better job as a nation in supporting new families; infancy is a critical time in a child's development.
- Christine in New York City
What's more important than our children. Show you're really pro-family and sign on.
- Melissa in Penfield

There's been an outpouring of support for our Mother's Day card to state legislators calling for paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives. Over 700 people have already signed the card, with more signing every day. And the four stories above are just four of the many that people are sharing (you can read all the stories starting at the bottom of this page).
Let me explain. The Working Families Party and the Paid Family Leave Coalition are asking everyone to sign a Mother's Day card with a message: It's time to give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.
No family should have to choose between spending time with a newborn child or putting food on the table, should have to risk their economic security to take care of an ailing parent.
But working families in New York face these choices every day. That's because the U.S. is one of only five countries in the world without a national policy allowing working families to take paid time off to care for newborn children and seriously ill relatives.
That's wrong, and we're going to do something about it.
We're working to expand an existing social insurance program - temporary disability insurance - to include family leave insurance. Family leave insurance would let parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives take 12 weeks of paid time off. Working New Yorkers would be able to receive a portion of their wages to maintain their family's economic security and care for their family. Here's more on the policy.
We're asking everyone to sign the Mother's Day card. We'll deliver it - and any message you want to send along with it - as we lobby in Albany.
Sign our Mother's Day card and send the message that you support family leave insurance.
And have a Happy Mother's Day!

Daily Politics 5/11/2007

2007-05-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

From the Daily Politics:

Spitzer Bolsters His Labor Ties

In recognition of Labor History Month, Gov. Eliot Spitzer today signed an executive order granting 50,000 day care providers the right to unionize and negotiate with the state to receive bigger public subsidies.

This has long been expected by the labor community, and is a big win for them. It is especially big for the labor-backed Working Families Party, which was among Spitzer's earliest backers but has often been at odds with him on policy - particularly when it comes to healthcare.

UPDATE: I'm told the bulk of the organizing work on this one was done by NY ACORN, whose executive director, Bertha Lewis, is a WFP co-chair, and the United Federation of Teachers.

This unusual move by Spitzer takes the place of legislation that passed the Legislature last year but was vetoed by former Gov. George Pataki.

The Senate overrode the veto on the last night of the 2006 legislative session in June - largely in hopes that the WFP would back then-Republican Sen. Nick Spano in a key race in Yonkers; the party remained neutral and Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins defeated Spano, further narrowing the GOP majority's already-slim margin in the chamber. The Assembly did not follow suit with the override.

The expectation is that day care workers will join one of the two state unions - PEF or CSEA. Critics say this sets a dangerous precedent, creating an employer-employee relationship where none should exist.

UPDATE: UFT spokesman Stu Marques says the expectation is that day-care workers within NYC will join UFT while those outside the city will join CSEA.

Danger Democrat 4/28/2007

2007-04-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

From Danger Democrat:

Not one from Jefferson County
Today in Syracuse The Working Families Party is conducting a seminar on Energy and Jobs. Elected officials from all over the general region were invited.
I glanced through the list of elected officials planning to attend and found out that not one from Jefferson County was listed. Too bad.

Living With Legends 4/27/2007

2007-04-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

From Living With Legends : Hotel Chelsea Blog:

Merle Lister at the Spring Housing Forum

Earlier this week Merle Lister participated in the Spring Housing Forum sponsored by the Chelsea Tenant Action Committee. Merle is encouraging everyone who is interested in housing rights to attend a couple of upcoming rallies. You can read more about the Forum at www.blogchelsea.com

One rally is on Wednesday, May 23 at Stuyvesant Town at 5:00 p.m. and another rally is on Saturday May 5, from 11:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m. at Middle Collegiate Church 50 E. 7^th St. The rally is to:

1.Repeal rent destabilization & the Urstadt Law
2. Preserve Mitchell Lama and Section 8 Housing
3. Stop unfair rent increases and harassment
4. Ensure adequate state funding for NYCHA housing
5. Limit rental payments for people living with HIV/AIDS to 30% of income

Blog Chelsea 4/26/2007

2007-04-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

From Blog Chelsea:

Rally to Preserve Rent Stabilization

Merle Lister of CTAC announced that there is a rally on Wed, May 23 at Stuyvesant Town at 5:00 p.m. and a rally on Saturday May 5, from 11:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m. at Middle Collegiate Church 50 E. 7^th St. The rally is to:

1.Repeal rent destabilization & the Urstadt Law

2. Preserve Mitchell Lama and Section 8 Housing

3. Stop unfair rent increases and harassment

4. Ensure adequate state funding for NYCHA housing

5. Limit rental payments for people living with HIV/AIDS to 30% of income

Empire Zone 4/13/2007

2007-04-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

From the Empire Zone:

Blogtalk

Tenant advocates say it is time for Albany to fix the rent laws. [Affordable Rent Campaign]

Change to Win Connect 3/29/2007

2007-03-29T15:33:00.000-05:00

From Change to Win Connect:

Labor Linkage for Thursday, March 29

The marriage of hypocrisy and corruption in Washington (David Sirota)
The Disposable Workforce (Michael Shedlock)
Wal-Mart Walks Away (Working Families Blog)

Gothamist 2/28/2007

2007-02-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

From Gothamist:

Extra Extra

There's a Working Families Party rally for NYC Public Schools tonight, as the Mayor announced a new "chief family engagement officer" would join the Department of Ed

Follow the Leader 11/4/2006

2006-11-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Latino Power Plays

Maybe I was wrong to sit on the fence when it came to Hiram Monserrate in September?

Monserrate will lead a Working Families Party "get out the vote" rally tomorrow, urging Latino voters to pick Eliot Spitzer on "Row E," rather than the Democratic line. Monserrate is the only elected official named in the release announcing the event, which would lead one to think that the WFP feels his future is as bright as ever.

Tomorrow will also see the return of another well-known Latino to the political ring. Along with Fernando Ferrer, musician/activist Willie Colon will take part in an uptown rally for Spitzer's campaign.

Colon is an interesting figure, since he has a tendency to cross party lines when itcomes to backing his candidates. Last year, Colon was out in front for Mayor Mike Bloomberg's reelection campaign, and this year he is publicly backing Spitzer.

Does Colon have a future in elected office? It is rumoured that he is interested in Ferrer's old Bronx Borough President seat, once Adolfo Carrion is forced out through term limits. Colon had initially run for the office in 2001, but changed his mind and ran for public advocate instead.

Though he lost that race, he did handily win his home borough of The Bronx, winning all but one Assembly district, in what was a crazy, seven-way race that saw the election of Betsy Gotbaum.

Follow the Leader 10/11/2006

2006-10-11T11:49:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Baseball Recap, Leaving The Boroughs

At the start of the season, I asked some of you for your baseball picks (look here, here and here).

So many people exhibited great courage and picked Mets/Yankees, so I'm not going to give anyone credit for that pick just yet. But as for people who stepped outside of New York to make their pick, a few are standing out. They are:

Scott Gastel, Sheinkopf Communications: ~~Yankees~~/Cardinals

Rebecca Gale, communications director, Rep. Eliot Engel: ~~Reds~~/Tigers.

Scott Sala, Urban Elephants: ~~Yankees~~/Cardinals.

Steve Perez, organizer, Working Families Party: A's/Cardinals (best one yet).

William Weitz, chief of staff, Rep. Eliot Engel: ~~Yankees~~/Cardinals.

I know my stuff.

Daily Kos 8/21/2006

2006-08-21T20:34:00.000-05:00

From Daily Kos:

Open Thread and Diary Rescue

Steve WFP's National Journal rankings shows New York is the swing state takes a look at the latest National Journal rankings of House races and provides some analysis.

Follow the Leader 7/19/2006

2006-07-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

A Blow For Fair Share?
Maryland's version of the "Fair Share for Health Care" Act has been ruled illegal.

Follow the Leader 6/28/2006

2006-06-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Why We Lost, Why We Fight

The Working Families Party has issued its own recap on why the "Fair Share for Health Care" Act failed to pass this year, promising to come back for the same fight next year. Quote:

"People will still be getting sick next year. And the fact that nearly three million New Yorkers don't have health insurance will still be a disgrace. In 2007, the state will release a study showing to the dollar the cost that large low-road employers are shirking. Our task is to make sure that our new Governor understands that it is long past time for a comprehensive approach to health care, and such an approach will necessarily require an end to freeloading by large employers."

Follow the Leader 6/14/2006

2006-06-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Shut Up, Grover

The Working Families Party takes on Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist's analysis of the "Fair Share for Health Care" Act here.

And I do think my headlines are charming.

Follow the Leader 6/13/2006

2006-06-13T12:49:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Die, Fair Share, Die!

Americans for Tax Reform are taking their own shots at the Working Families' Party-backed "Fair Share for Health Care" Act.

"When the government tells businesses what to do and how much to do it for, workers and consumers bear the brunt by losing jobs and facing higher prices. The '"Fair Share' bill is like prescribing leeches to cure a fever. In removing the 'problem' of having some part-time jobs without health care, you also remove the 'problem' of having jobs, the lifeblood of economic growth," said ATR President Grover Norquist.

Follow the Leader 5/23/2006

2006-05-23T17:48:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

WFP Fires Back
Pointing out that the Employment Policies Institute is a think tank funded by the restaurant industry, the Working Families Party has sent me a response to this item. In brief, here it is directly from their release:
1. Rhetoric: The Fair Share for Health Care bill will cost nearly 100,000 jobs.
Reality: This is exactly the argument that was made about minimum wage; it wasn't true then, and it's not true now...
2. Rhetoric: Fair Share for Health Care will not cover 83% of New York's uninsured.
Reality: The legislation does not purport to be a comprehensive solution to the crisis of New York’s uninsured. But it is a significant and practical first step that will cover more than 400,000 New Yorkers who work at large firms but are currently uninsured, as well as another 193,000 who work for large firms but receive health care through Medicaid and Family Health Plus.
3. Rhetoric: The bill makes health care more expensive for New York employers.
Reality: The bill makes health care less expensive for employers already providing decent, affordable benefits...
4. Rhetoric: The Fair Share bill will hurt New York's business climate.
Reality: The Fair Share bill will benefit New York businesses by:
- Reducing the burden on state and local taxpayers by nearly $1 billion annually as by shifting health care costs away from taxpayer-subsidized programs like Medicaid and back to employers who have tried to game the system by shifting these costs.
- Providing a level playing field for responsible local businesses that struggle to compete with multi-billion dollar corporations like Wal-Mart that do not offer decent, affordable benefits to their workers.
- Reducing the cost of health care for responsible employers.

Follow the Leader 5/23/2006

2006-05-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Not So Fair Share

The Employment Policies Institute is taking issue with the "Fair Share for Health Care" Act, which has become the agenda centerpiece of the Working Families Party and is being discussed on the floor of the Assembly today. Read their report here.

EPI's report claims that the bill would cost State businesses $9.2 billion, destroy 100,000 jobs and ignore 83 percent of those who are currently uninsured anyway.

"Proponents of this measure are actually trying to claim that increased labor costs will create more jobs," said Mike Flynn, EPI's director of legislative affairs. "As far as the laws of economics go, this is tantamount to saying water runs uphill."

Follow the Leader 5/16/2006

2006-05-16T13:31:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

If You Really Care...
...about the "Fair Share for Health Care" Act, the Working Families Party will pay you to help pass it.

Follow the Leader 5/11/2006

2006-05-11T15:03:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

Citizen Feedback

The Working Families Party is allowing interested parties to post on their Web site why they support the Fair Share for Health Care Act. Some highlights:

"The purpose of legislation is justice."

"My 19 year old Grandson is living alone and supporting himself. He is loosing all his teeth and has indured numerous illnesses without a Doctor's visit. He needs some kind of health care as do so many in the country without it."

"Admittedly this is not the answer to all health care problems, but it is a solid, just and necessary step along the way to universal health care."

"Corporations need to take care of their workers and not continue to pass on these expenses to the taxpayer! Add some pennies to your prices and deduct some from your profits - do the right thing!"

"This bill is a win-win for us. If large outside chains decide to leave rather than comply, smaller local businesses will be able to move into the void."

"If you can offer free health care to non-citizens then you MUST take care of our own citizens!!! Send the illegal aliens home and the money that is saved could pay for our own citizens. That is if the big tax cuts don't backrupt us first."

Follow the Leader 5/3/2006

2006-05-03T23:47:00.000-05:00

From Follow the Leader:

WFP For Perkins

The Harlem branch of the Working Families Party has endorsed Bill Perkins to succeed David Paterson in the State Senate.

"He’s a proven legislator who has been fearless in tackling the problems our community faces," said WFP leader Ramona McFarlan.

Simply Left Behind 4/27/2006

2006-04-27T14:16:00.000-05:00

From Simply Left Behind:

Weh-hell, It Looks Like New York Dems ARE Relevant, After All!

Democrats Look to Clinton and Spitzer for Help in Winning House

April 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Democrats' prospects for winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November may rest with two high-powered New York politicians who aren't even running for seats: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Eliot Spitzer.

Clinton, who's likely to win easy re-election to the Senate, and Spitzer, the state attorney general who is leading in polls to become the next governor, might help the Democrats pick up as many as six New York congressional seats -- more than one-third of the 15 they need nationally to gain a House majority.

The two are so strong politically that they may lift Democratic candidates across the state, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. Spitzer, 46, led potential Republican candidates by margins ranging from 18 to 66 percentage points in a Qunnipiac University poll last month; a Marist poll earlier this year found that 54 percent of New Yorkers ``definitely'' plan to vote for Clinton, 58.

"It could turn into a Democratic year in New York, which might then have an impact on down-ballot races for Congress,'' Miringoff said.
Interesting. Let's see how this works:
House Democratic candidates such as Kirsten Gillibrand are campaigning on the theme that their Republican opponents are too closely tied to President George W. Bush's policies.

Gillibrand is seeking the Democratic nomination in New York's 20th District to challenge four-term incumbent Republican Representative John Sweeney.

Democrats are also targeting seats held by Republicans Sherwood Boehlert, Randy Kuhl, Tom Reynolds, James Walsh, and Sue Kelly, said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He said Democrats may have an advantage because of a flagging economy in upstate New York, and will be helped by the candidates at the top of the ticket.
Now, Boehlert has already announced he will not seek re-election. He's been in Congress for 24 years now, and one imagines that, as a moderate Republican, he's probably had enough of the nonsense that passes for a legislative agenda.
Kuhl won a first term in Congress in 2004 with just 51 percent of the vote, making his southwestern New York district a top target this year. He will probably face off in November against Democrat Eric Massa, a former Navy officer and special assistant to General Wesley Clark.
That he pulled 51% of the vote as a newbie in New York State in a year when Bush couldn't be seen on the political radar (except for his appearance at the RNC, see below) is no small matter, but he replaced Republican Amo Houghton, one of the genuinely nice guys and smart guys in Congress (I know, I've spoken with him at length). My suspicion is, coupled with his....shall we say, less than spotless marital record?...he might be a bit vulnerable on his record, or lack thereof.
Reynolds, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is being challenged by his 2004 opponent, businessman Jack Davis, who won 44 percent of the vote in the Buffalo suburban district last time
Now, Reynolds is running in a district that sees Tim Russert regularly, and during the 2000 Senatorial campaign, you may recall that Buffalo hosted the infamous Lazio manuever during a debate, when Republican Rick Lazio assaulted Hillary Clinton.

What you may not recall from that debate was the strong note made regarding the lackluster economy in the Buffalo area. Some progress has been made, based on a recent trip I took up that way, but clearly more can and should be done to improve what has always been a fine working class town. It's cities like Buffalo that deserve America's attention.
Walsh's leading Democratic challenger, former House Ways and Means Committee aide Dan Maffei, has raised $207,000 so far, compared with the $381,000 raised by the nine-term lawmaker. The Syracuse district gave Kerry 50 percent of its vote in 2004 to 48 percent for Bush.
You might be noticing a pattern here: all of these seats are in western New York state. The demographics up there have altered somewhat over the past six years, and certainly more rapidly over the past two. Kerry won the district. Gore won the district, but by a slightly larger margin. Could be a toss-up.
The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington newsletter, has Kelly's race on a watch list because the district gave Bush only 53 percent of the vote in 2004. As many as six Democrats may face off in a September primary to take Kelly on in November. The front-runner, lawyer Judith Aydelott, has raised $466,000 to Kelly's $1 million.
Hey now! Where's John Hall in all this??? He's "Still the One"!

More in-depth info at, and a hat tip to, the Working Families Party Journal