Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich connects the dots on the economy, in less than 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Who knew he could draw!?!

For thirty years, corporations have been shipping jobs overseas, Wall Street has helped the rich get richer by stealing from working class Americans. For thirty years, the progressive taxation system which was in place in this country has been picked apart to the point where working people are paying a higher percentage of their income in taxes, fees and other "per-use" charges.

Now we are being told that we need to "tighten our belts," make more concessions, because the top 1% of our citizens do not want to pay their fair share. In his new book, Jonathan Tasini outlines what's wrong with the current blaming of the fiscal crisis on working Americans, while making us pay for it.

Definitely worth reading...and it's FREE!

The recent attacks on workers in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire and in Washington highlight the open assault on workers' rights. If you think the middle class isn't under attack, then you need to watch this video. Interestingly, the people who yell the loudest about free enterprise are pushing the elimination of PLA's, which are contracts entered into in a free market environment to provide quality workmanship on large-scale construction projects. Watch Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley stand up for our rights in DC.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a great article for Politico a few days ago, outlining plans put forward by billionaires through their newly elected congress. These plans include reducing --to the point of nearly eliminating-- the Estate Tax, which would throw our budget an additional trillion dollars into the red. According to Senator Sanders,

"All benefits would go to the top 0.3 percent. More than 99.7 percent of families would not gain a nickel. But Walmart’s Walton family would receive an estimated tax break of more than $30 billion if the estate tax were repealed."

Their plans also involve dismantling Social Security and Medicare--benefits which we working people PAY FOR.

Tell Congress: Don’t Carve Up Social Security

For those of you who wonder why we are involved in economic development issues, check this story out. Companies accross the US have received millions of dollars of economic development incentives, only to turn around and leave the country. Much of this economic development money isn't tied to job creation or even prevailing wages on the construction end. In the Capital District, the SI Group is planning to build a $30 million plant in China received $4.5 million in property tax breaks from the Rotterdam IDA. They are not listed in the AFL-CIO's Job Tracker yet, but see who is...

Many of us have only one experience with the NYS Department of Labor: applying for unemployment during the off-season. However, this New York State agency (and the public employees who work there) does much more for workers in the state. One example is shown in this video.

The Role of the New York State Comptroller is an important one, the Comptroller acts as the sole trustee of the $129 billion Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest institutional investors in the world, and in that capacity has discression over investment strategies for the fund. This can impact our work because the Fund invests millions in construction projects every year, and we are happy to have someone running this fund who understands the need to create family-sustaining jobs.

Check out this video about what one candidate did when he had control over workers lives.

Many of you have asked the important question: WHY DO WE GET INVOLVED IN POLITICS? The simple answer is this: We must protect our industry as we move forward, and for better or for worse, one way we can do this is by electing people who understand our issues.

The construction industry has been devastated by the recession and without the support we received from the current Governor and certain members of the Legislature it would have been significantly worse in our region. As Governor, David Paterson insisted that GlobalFoundries negotiate with us on the Chip Fab plant in Malta, NY, resulting in safe, family-sustaining jobs for more than 1,000 construction workers in the capital district over the course of several years.