Neoliberalism

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos by Mariel Waloff
 
Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of Philadelphians came out in the rain to send a message to state legislators (who were meeting nearby) that Mayor Nutter's attempt to balance the city budget on the backs of city workers is unacceptable.

 
On Tuesday, public employees from four major unions in Philadelphia (TWU 234, AFSCME D.C. 33 and D.C. 47 and SEIU 32BJ), will hold a rally to demand that local and state politicians do not solve the city and state fiscal shortfall on the backs of working class families and public employees.Squeezing low-wage workers is no way to deal with the economic crisis,said Wayne MacManiman, 32BJ Mid-Atlantic Area Director. We are calling on Mayor Nutter to protect the wages of the working people who keep our City running.”The rally comes at a critical time, as workers in AFSCME DC 33 and DC 47 as well as police and firefighters have been working without a contract since June 30th. While these unions are currently in contract negotiations with the City of Philadelphia, there is speculation that it will be difficult to find compromise as the Mayor seeks to flatten workers' wages and cut contributions in healthcare and pension.
 
Check out MMP's audio and video coverage of the last public employees rallyhere

 
The Unified Taxi Workers Alliance (UTWA) will stage a rally this Wednesday, July 22nd, from 11 am to 1pm at 3101 Market Street, in front of the Philadelphia Parking Authority' headquarters. The demonstration will be to demand fair parking ticket practices, a reduction in the outrageous new fees imposed on the taxi industry, and the return of funds that were wrongly withheld from drivers when doing credit card transactions.

This afternoon, people from all over the city gathered at the brand-new No Slots Spot, right across the street from the proposed slots parlor, for an Anti-Casino Circus. "Because when it comes to bringing slots to Philly, it's not a democracy, it's a circus!"