Category Archives: politics

Hazards to furniture workers

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Common dreams has this up on the hazards of furniture workers.  Be sure to click on the link to the NY Times.  This relates to my post on verbal abuse–she’s not bleeding and bruised–it’s much harder, I think, for the public to see the injuries, even though she now walks with a cane.  It’s amazing that she lasted five years….I wouldn’t last five minutes, being  so hypersensitive now…and I am met with the same disinterest and disbelief when I talk about being hypersensitive to chemicals….you can’t show someone how these chemicals affect you until you’re so bad that you’re bedridden.

I don’t know why they can’t design furniture that doesn’t require gluing.  What is wrong with just thread and needle?  Is glue really required or can a more creative mind come up with a solution that doesn’t require it?

And if it is affecting the workers this way, what does it do to the person who purchases it?  It’s much harder for someone to prove that their furniture is making them ill.  I meet with such resistance from folks who should know better—or at least folks who should make it their business to know this stuff….but alas…

Lastly, as the article explores, what happens if the workers protest too much?  The company will pack up and move overseas…or just find another worker…

From the article:

“There are people lined up out there for jobs,” said John Lyles, a vice president at Franklin, according to testimony by a plant manager in a successful lawsuit in Mississippi brought by four cushion workers who suffered severe nerve damage from the glue. “If they start dropping like flies, or something in that order, we can replace them today.”

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God, if that isn’t chilling to read.  In other words, human life is so cheap, we can poison them and there will be more to take their place.  Unbelievable.

Incredibly, OSHA has been inspecting this plant and filing reports of dangerous levels since 1996….and they keep repeating the same story with no results.  Clearly, reading this article, OSHA does not exert its power to shut down these plants.  The article states that it’s a matter of limited resources.  I suspect that it is also unwilling to shut down plants because it would send so many people to the unemployment office.  In this economy, the workers are even more vulnerable and need even greater protection. There are no mentions of unions in this article…so one can assume there are none?

 

 

 

 

Hansen leaving NASA

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Common Dreams has this up on NASA scientist James Hansen leaving the agency to work actively against climate change.

What’s really depressing about this article is that Hansen has been telling Congress since 1988 that climate change was real and a growing problem.

1988….twenty-five freaking years ago….and we’re still dragging our feet?  It is so depressing at all that has happened since then and how much better off we would be now if action had been taken at that time!

 

The culture and women

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The Boston Women’s Collective put out the book Our Bodies, Ourselves to fill that information gap for women and the issues that nobody talks about.

Here is a page on domestic violence which explores the options for women and questions the culture that fosters the thinking that women are weak, therefore, it’s okay to smack them around. They don’t explore verbal abuse enough, however, and therein lies a big problem….

I don’t think most women know what verbal abuse is…especially in this culture of the put-down being “funny”.  “What’s the matter, can’t you take a joke….?”

Verbal abuse isn’t taken as seriously because there’s no bleeding or bruising involved.  It’s much easier, I think, for us to look at someone who is hurt on the outside and be shocked at the brutality.  But with verbal abuse, the “bruises” and “cuts” are on the inside and that pain is difficult to “see”.

Humiliation, put-downs, and disrespect are all apart of verbal abuse, among other things.  And verbal abuse almost always precedes physical abuse.

Verbal abuse kills the soul.

Physical abuse kills the body.

…because even the low minimum wage is too much to pay…

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As Susie Madrak says, just when you think WalMart can’t get any lower…they provide you with even more reasons to loathe them….

As a side note, here is a list of the companies paying the least in taxes.  (hat tip to huffington post)

Note that Verizon is on the list–Verizon in recent years was sending their sales folks out on the street (door to door) to sell their product.  They paid them nothing. Not one cent.  Meanwhile, the poor sap employee used their gas/vehicle to get to the assigned area….only getting a paycheck if they signed someone up–low pay that maybe, just maybe covered their gas expenses…or not.

Here’s another post on companies that pay employees the least. Note Walmart on here, too.  Shock. Surprise. /snark

More here on employees not being paid.  More here.

And here. 

And this on Walmart doing what it does best–using the law for its own purposes to avoid paying health insurance: forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/09/walmart-bails-on-obamacare-sticks-taxpayers-with-employee-healthcare-costs/

Same here: gawker.com/5950331/olive-garden-red-lobster-scale-back-employee-work-hours-to-avoid-paying-for-health-insurance

(A note here–when I did my search, page after page came up with links for business owners and helping them with legal questions of not paying their employees.  I’m thinking WTH?)

And given the golden parachute….um, yeah, paying one or a handful of people millions of dollars as they leave a company…paying someone for not working versus not paying folks who do work…makes no sense at all….

Krugman on Cyprus

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(hat tip to common dreams)

Paul Krugman has a few thoughts on Cyprus:  Leave the euro now.

The only issue with Krugman’s column is that he should get a little more detailed and put it into context.  Most folks are not literate in the financial world (which I think they bank on (pun intended)), so a little “lesson” on the history of economics and why we continually bail out banks and financial institutions and anyone else they deemed “worthy”…just as long as they don’t give those sleazy poor people food stamps!!

Banks and profiteering on food.

Christie private profiteering

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Well, the good feelings towards Christie for his actions during the storm crises is evaporating rapidly…with the news of him continuing to destroy public education for private profiteers.

Looking at the comments, Amitola mentions how the town has gone the way of most in the U.S.–jobs dry up, people move or the ones that stay are scraping by–not able to support a robust economy.  And the schools follow–poverty is the number one reason for school’s poor performance.  It’s hard to concentrate on school work when you’re hungry, dirty, and your folks are stressed out because you’re *this close* to being out on the street.  (or worse, you’re already out on the street, living in a shelter, with noise all night long and no privacy and no life).

Another poignant comment is by John Randolph:  the 1% bring the city to its knees and then profit off of the carcass.
Disaster capitalism, folks….(speaking of unions, they announced on the news the other day that Indiana has now lost more union members than gained, thanks to “Right to Work” law.  Also, they are airing commercials promoting a tax break…yes, a tax break in this economy…for Hoosiers—Gov. Mike Pence, an APEC toadie, first spouted this hairbrained idea right after election.  Legislature said no.  Now *cough* Americans for Prosperity are taking it to the airwaves trying to get people to call their representatives.)

Unfortunately, charter school takeover is not just here in the U.S., but now in Haiti. (insert a few choice expletives here). Note that Bill Gates has his filthy little fingers in this, too.  Like I said before, he is not the philanthropist he tries to imitate.

See previous posts here. And here. And here. 

And here.