BY Lillian Osborne

– Why do unions matter? They increase wages and benefits for their members, sure—but do they have any impact on society as a whole?

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a progressive thinktank, published a chart earlier this week showing a striking correlation between the decline of union membership and the upsurge of income inequality.

While a variety of factors affect wealth inequality and union membership, it’s hard not to notice that the two graphs are nearly mirror images of each other: As union membership increases, the share of wealth by the richest 10 percent of Americans decreases; as membership goes down, the wealthy’s share goes up.

Based on studies by Colin Gordon and an updated analysis of tax data by Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, the percent of public and private sector workers in unions continues to fall, reaching its lowest rate since 1936 at 11.1 percent last year. At the same time, the share of income going to the top 10 percent of wage earners reached an all-time high of 47.8 percent in 2012.

As membership increased after 1936 during the Great Depression, peaking at 33.4 percent in 1945 and staying about the same until 1960, the top 10 percent’s share of wealth fell. At a height of 46.3 percent in 1932, the share of wealth held by the richest tenth fell to 31.5 percent by 1944, remaining stable till about 1980. As union membership steadily declined after 1980, the wealthiest Americans saw their share of riches surge.

Gordon explained the importance of unions in other realms beyond higher wages for their members: “Unions at midcentury also exerted considerable political clout, sustaining other political and economic choices (minimum wage, job-based health benefits, Social Security, high marginal tax rates, etc.) that dampened inequality.”

As Doug Henwood recently noted, despite the decline of overall membership recorded in the most recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unions still improve wages and working conditions considerably, especially for demographics subject to the most workplace discrimination.

The EPI’s chart is a visual testament to unions’ ability to impact not only their own members’ lives, but also the distribution of wealth in society as a whole. As unions decline, it’s not just union members who lose out—the entire society loses one of the main forces that can help make sure wealth doesn’t congeal among the richest.

While private-sector union membership, which accounts for five times more employment than public-sector union membership, continues to drop, public-sector unions have largely remained stable over the last 30 years. But with the continuing attacks on public-sector unions by right-to-work state legislation and Supreme Court cases, one of the last bastions of strong unionism in the U.S. may soon erode just like the private sector. If the EPI’s research is any indication, this could foreshadow more egregious income inequality to come.

Source: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17603/one_chart_shows_how_unions_redistribute_wealth

By Jared Shelly

– Paid sick leave legislation has gotten one step closer to becoming a reality. A City Council committee unanimously passed an ordinance that would require paid sick leave for some workers in the city. They would be able to earn up to five paid sick days per year.

Although Mayor Michael Nutter has twice vetoed such legislation, he’s now on board, according to Chief of Staff Everett Gillison. He said the following, according to CBS Philly:

“Mayor Nutter believes the time for paid sick leave has come,” Gillison said. “It will be a boon to those who need it to take care of themselves, their children and their families while holding down a job.”

Councilman Bill Greenlee is championing the legislation. He doesn’t want people to feel compelled to come to work sick, spreading germs and possibly taking longer to recover.
Greenlee wants businesses that employ 10 or more to be subject to paid sick leave requirements, but the mayor wants the standard to be 15 employees. Joe Grace of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce is also in favor of a higher employee count, according to CBS Philly.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2015/02/paid-sick-leave-moves-forward-and-now-had-mayors.html

By Jared Shelly

– It’s no secret that Chris Matthews is a Philly boy. A graduate of La Salle College High School, the Hardball host always seems to be an ardent supporter of his hometown.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Matthews wants the Democratic National Convention to be held in Philadelphia. In fact, he wrote an op-ed in Tuesday’s Washington Post to outline his reasons why the convention should go to the City of Brotherly Love.

First of all, historic sites like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Betsy Ross’s House “are within quick walking distance of Philadelphia’s convention center.” (I guess they technically are, although I have a vision of delegates taking a cab from 13th street to Old City.)

But more importantly, argues Matthews, a Philadelphia convention would help the Democrats pounce on a theme of equality — one he thinks would resonate with voters tired of seeing women not paid equally, or gays still fighting for full marriage equality.

But the greater opportunity is what a 2016 Philadelphia convention could do on television. Consider the themes at the heart of the current national debate over voting rights, marriage equality and pay equity.

In the end, it’s all a dog-and-pony show, which is another reason Matthews likes Philadelphia:

By gathering in iconic Philadelphia, Democrats could lay claim to not just the flag but what it stands for. A week there, sparkling with American values, could produce the kind of inspiring national convention we’ve missed in recent years.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and others visited Philadelphia in late January as they attempt to make a final decision. Philadelphia is competing with New York and Columbus, Ohio for the the right to hold the convention.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2015/02/chris-matthews-writes-washington-post-op-ed-on-why.html

By Josh Kruger

– In a startling analysis for the Inquirer, Kristen Graham reports that over the course of 24 years, the Philadelphia School District has destroyed its librarian population by a stunning 94 percent. A thorough look at the exact nature of Philly’s schools crisis as it pertains to its libraries, Graham writes that “in 1991, there were 176 certified librarians in city schools. Now there are 11—for 218 schools.”

The fact that Philly’s ever-beleaguered school district is in dire straits isn’t surprising; after all, when news broke that the district was closing libraries in its flagship schools, Philadelphia Weekly‘s editor-in-chief Stephen Segal called the move a declaration “of war” and a “failure of basic civilization.” It’s not just a symbolic assault on knowledge, though: Having a paid librarian on staff in a school is a proven way to help students.

In fact, one comprehensive study conducted in Pennsylvania and reported by the School Library Journal revealed in 2013 that “reading and writing scores are better for students who have a full-time certified librarian than those who don’t” and that “students who are economically disadvantaged, black, Hispanic, and have IEPs (i.e., students with disabilities) benefit proportionally more than students generally.”

Basically, having staffed libraries in schools is critical to closing what are known as “achievement gaps.”

Other findings of that study include the fact that students “who are poor, minority, and have IEPs, but who have full-time librarians, are at least twice as likely to have ‘Advanced’ writing scores [on standardized tests] as their counterparts without full-time librarians.” In addition, “the benefits associated with larger staffing and collections and increased access to technology, databases, and to the library itself are proportionally greater for students who are poor, black, Hispanic, and disabled.”

After all, learning how to access and analyze information is critical to advancing knowledge. “People don’t know how to look at information,” Free Library of Philadelphia president Siobhan Reardon told Philadelphia Weekly late last year. “It’s why libraries are important in the first place.”

The failure—or refusal—of officials to address the schools crisis has led other public entities, like the Free Library, to step in, though. In that same interview, Reardon went on to say that the “education system is challenged across [the nation]” in urban America.

“I actually feel that we in the Philadelphia Free Library have a better relationship with the school district here [than in other cities],” Reardon insisted, “because the superintendent has been like, ‘I’m taking whatever help I can get to help these kids.’” Reardon indicated that the challenges faced by the district are multifaceted and that the public library system will do whatever it can to help pick up the slack.

Still, it’s depressing to know that the Philadelphia School District has lost nearly all of its librarians—and even more saddening to assess the likely damage to local students wrought by that decision.

And, no matter how much the public libraries want to helps the schools, there exist financial realities that make that civic obligation to schoolchildren all that more onerous. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, state legislators in Harrisburg recently cut 50 percent of public library funds to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

With that in mind, it’s a mystery just how much help those organizations can provide to the starved schools.

What’s certain, however, is that cutting paid librarians doesn’t do Philly schoolchildren any favors.

Source: http://phillynow.com/2015/02/02/report-the-school-district-has-cut-librarian-population-by-94-percent/

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– Due to the snowstorm that hit earlier this week, and in the interest of public safety, the Raise The Wage PA Kickoff that had been scheduled for Tuesday was postponed, and will now happen on Monday, February 9. Sign-in is at noon at the Grace Methodist Church at 216 State Street in Harrisburg, just a half block from the Capitol. An opening plenary session will be followed by workshops and then a march to the Capitol to visit legislators with materials to support raising the minimum wage in PA to at least $10.10 per hour. Visit The Raise The Wage PA Website to register, and to check out the full list of workshops and speakers, including Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale.

The new date for the Raise The Wage event also coincides with the 2015 PA AFL-CIO Legislative conference and Lobby Day. It is our hope that these events complement each other and encourage even more activists to talk to their legislators about issues of economic fairness, workers rights, and an economy that works for all Pennsylvanians.

Lobby day information packets will be available beginning at 11:00am in the second floor lobby of the Harrisburg Hilton. Registration for the legislative conference does not begin until 4:00pm, which leaves plenty of time for lobbying and attending the Raise The Wage event before the conference begins. For more information on the 2015 Legislative Conference, go to: http://www.paaflcio.org/?tribe_events=pa-afl-cio-2015-legislative-conference

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=5745