economy

It’s no secret that our economy is changing profoundly for millions of workers. But a December 30, 2011, New York Times article, "Factory Jobs Gain, but Wages Retreat," deserves special attention.

Let me begin with a lengthy quote from an article on last week’s report by the U.S. Census Bureau that poverty is at its highest rate in half a century. The facts are alarming and tragic.

The New York Times tells us that the U.S. automakers are back to profitability and seem to have a bright future. Good news, of course. Now that the trend toward success is becoming evident, let’s take stock of the lessons of what has been a great American tragedy.

The Ohio region is one of the hardest hit by the recession. It also has high rates of depression and chronic diseases. Yet KP Ohio has made great strides in improving the quality of care and service members receive and contributing to the overall health of the community. Barb Grimm recently spoke to Belva Denmark-Tibbs, vice president of medical operations in Ohio about the challenges and opportunities facing the region and its teams.

Jean Eisen lives in Buena Park, CA in Orange County.  Buena Park is home of UFCW Local 324, one of our Coalition-affiliated local unions.

According to UC-Berkeley Professor Emmanuel Saez, the disparity of income in the US today has never been greater than at any time in the last century.

On November 16, the US Department of Agriculture reported that 49 million people in 2008 “lacked access to adequate nutrition.” That’s 13 million more people than in the previous year, and the most ever since the US began reporting this data 14 years ago.