Steve Cooper Posts

The infuriating story of the Philadelphia building collapse that union officials say could have been prevented got more infuriating yesterday when it came to light that the low-road contractor hired to do the demolition did not even have city wage tax accounts.

Recent calculations show that the average Chief Executive Officer at a company earns 204 times more than his or her rank-and-file employees. This out-of-control sign of income disparity was touched upon in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which recommends that companies should be forced to provide transparency and reveal the difference between worker pay and CEO pay.

The House's protection of the Davis-Bacon Act — which has for decades protected workers’ wages on federally-funded construction projects — offers a glimmer of collaborative bipartisan hope. Last week, 36 Republicans joined a three-digit chorus of Democrats to send Iowa tea party zealot Rep. Steve King’s hurtful, anti-worker amendment packing.

"Piece by piece, over many years and even decades, we can build a city that's capable of preparing better, withstanding more and overcoming anything."

Today's big Obama administration privacy breach news looked for a second like it was going to be the President's fervent defense of secret orders to gather phone records and massive tech company data. That is, until this week's third (fourth? who can keep track?) revelation of info overreach came to light.

When low-road contractors run ripshod through town, unchecked with under-achieving workers, disaster is always around the corner. Union workers and organizations should not have to act as policemen for the dangerous and unscrupulous practices of unaccountable contractors.

Behind a powerful push of undisclosed money, the recall of Colorado State Senator John Morse appears to be successful. Of course, that should be expected after the former police chief tried to make his constituency safer with more stringent gun laws.

Turkey's Prime Minister has banned kissing in public, late-night sale of alcohol and certain colors of lipstick for airline attendants. Following his unilateral decision to level a popular park in order to build a shopping mall, protests broke out. Now, he is dismissing protestors as "bums" while sicking a violent police force on them with tear gas.

Eric Bolling and the men of Fox News clearly don't understand that better access to reproductive-health services, birth control, and abortion allows women to decide their own futures. Women can better provide for their loved ones and make the best decisions about when to start and how to nurture or grow their families.

Hate gay marriage? Don't know how to spell? We've got a graphic design job for you...

A Democratic senator from New Jersey, Frank Lautenberg died at the age of 89 after complications from viral pneumonia. The man behind cigarette bans and the minimum drinking age, as well as an ardent gun control supporter, had been the oldest person in the Senate and last remaining World War II vet.

A handful of mile high Democratic state lawmakers face recall petition efforts in what looks to be the first wave of fallout over legislative votes to limit gun rights. In an era in which recall efforts are booming, from governor's offices down to town councils and school boards, Colorado will serve as the petri dish for gun-rights groups who want to punish elected officials who expanded gun control laws after last year's Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., shooting massacres.

Anthony Weiner is embarking on an audacious comeback quest, hoping to go from punch line pol whose tweeted crotch shot was emblazoned on the nation's consciousness to Mayor of America's biggest city, New York. The Democrat is jumping into a crowded field for September's primary.

A federal appeals court Tuesday backed the U.S. government's decision not to release photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and after a raid in which the terrorist leader was killed by U.S. commandos.

They only need a meager $660 million to make the Tribune Company into a newspaper-based NPR.

Teamsters formed a solid wall on the suburban roadway approaching the church. They stood silent guard as mourners drove slowly by on the way to the 11 a.m. funeral service at St. Joseph's Church in Medford.

Over 400 food workers at more than 50 fast food locations in New York City went on a surprise strike Thursday demanding higher wages and the ability to unionize without retaliation. Wages of $15 an hour are being sought. Workers are being assisted in their organizing by Fast Food Forward, a campaign created by New York Communities for Change. Workers’ desire to organize has been met with retaliation and even termination. In late November, New York workers staged their first strike, but now many workers who were afraid to take action at the time appear willing to join.

This is the second action of its kind by fast food workers in the city, but this effort appears to feature much larger numbers and may cause store closures.

A conception of Cincinnati's USquare In Cincinnati, the City Council

This is a sweet story of the power of organized labor to bring opportunity — and joy — to a community in need. Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) typically include minority, female, and veteran hiring mandates. Thus, a new PLA entered into by the Illinois Department of Transportation is a source of hope for minority hiring in St. Louis, Illinois. Via Fox2 in St. Louis, IL:

Clergy will gather Wednesday morning to celebrate a new agreement

There are two things you need to know about Thomas Perez, the man nominated by President Obama to be the new Secretary of Labor: 1) Thomas Perez is the man. 2) the GOP wi