New York, NY — New York activists will rally for democracy under the banner “Money Out, Voters In” on Saturday, January 19, the weekend marking civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and the anniversary of the damaging Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision. People in over 65 cities and 32 states are rallying to demand lawmakers pass measures that limit the corrosive influence of money in politics and expand democratic participation at the polls.
WHAT: Telephone press conference to demand an end to the growing threat to our democracy posed by voter suppression and unlimited corporate and special interest spending in elections. Momentum is growing nationwide, with more organizations, policymakers and citizens calling for change. On the call, groups will preview rallies and demonstrations being held nationwide on or around Saturday, Jan. 19, to coincide with the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision (Jan. 21), Martin Luther King Jr.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporate Reform Coalition applauds the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) commitment to seek disclosure of all corporate political spending in response to a historical demonstration of investor demand for such a rule-making.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) commitment to consider a proposed rule to require disclosure of corporate political spending, the Corporate Reform Coalition will hold a press call on Tuesday, January 8th at 9:30 am to discuss this positive development, share expert analysis, and urge the agency to move swiftly to complete the rule-making this year.
New York -- In response to the late night passage of a tax deal by the US House of Representatives, Miles Rapoport, president of the national nonpartisan public policy organization Demos released the following statement:
"It is in the nature of a complicated bipartisan agreement that it looks very different depending on what prism you look at it through. Two elements are critically important: what is actually in the bill that passed and the President will sign, and how its passage ‘sets up’ the future fiscal debates.
NEW YORK -- The United States faces a retirement crisis that threatens future retirees and the next generation of workers. The voluntary employer-sponsored retirement system covers fewer and fewer Americans, often leaving Social Security, originally intended as a supplement to other forms of retirement, as the major source of income for 40 percent of older Americans. Even workers still covered by an employer retirement plan have had their benefits weakened.
It is really terrific to see retailers here giving critical attention to the Demos study. As a former business owner in the health services industry, I do realize that these problems are more than just abstract theory. That's one of the reasons why Demos and I thought it would be useful to evaluate the possibilities for adopting this business model across the retail sector, especially as the importance of retail to the US economy continues to grow.
“Black Friday” sales are debt traps for people to rush out and buy on credit.
But we can fix this on both the wage and profit ends of the continuum. It’s not that complex a fix, but it requires seeing our country as a whole, as one people who rise and fall together.
We can fix this whole mess and have something for which we could really give thanks, if we just paid workers a little more.
Walmart has been on something of a charm offensive where the public is concerned (and anintimidation offensive where its workers are concerned), hoping to blunt the impact of the Black Friday rebellion.
"Everyone is part-timed to death at these stores," Walton said. "When they sign up for these shifts, it's 'I don't get enough hours, I'm dying for hours, so I'll work these shifts.' Until we do something to stop the part-timing of the workforce, we're going to see this happen."
"Workers want to stop this before it becomes an absolute standard to work on Thanksgiving," Walton added.
More broadly, the widening inequality reflected in the gap between the pay of Walmart workers and the returns to Walmart investors, including the Walton fammily, haunts the American economy.
A new study released by the progressive think tank Demos on Monday estimated that if retail workers were given a living wage, hundreds of thousands of Americans would be lifted out of poverty and the wage boost would significantly bolster the economy.
Will you drive on over to your local Wal-Mart on Black Friday morning, only to find yourself confronted by capitalism's misdeeds, in the form of protesting Wal-Mart workers demanding something approaching a living wage? Here is a list of planned Wal-Mart Black Friday actions around the country.
Even though the ads are gone and the election season is over (for now), the distorting impact of all that ad money permeates our entire political process.
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching,Demos has released a new report showing how raising wages in the retail sector would benefit not just workers but the economy as a whole. The study looks at what would happen if the lowest-paid retail employees earned $25,000 a year (the current average is $21,000 for retail sales people and just $18,500 for cashiers).
NEW YORK - Just in time for Black Friday, when consumers rely on scores of retail workers to help them navigate the stressful holiday season, a new study released today by national public policy center Demos, Retail’s Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Economy Overall, examines the economic benefits of a wage increase for large chain retail workers on consumer experiences, businesses, fa
Walmart executives worried about the recent spate of labor activity against the retailer would probably tell you that they cannot possibly offer higher wages to their employees while maintaining their brand identifier of low prices. They offer what the market will bear in terms of wages, they would say, and anything more would represent a loss for their business, and would impact shoppers on tight budgets. It’s just not possible.
Retail companies don't have to choose between high wages and high profits, argues a new report from the researchers at Demos.
In Retail’s Hidden Potential, policy analyst Catherine Ruetschlin says that higher wages across the retail industry would create jobs and reduce poverty without cutting significantly into employers’ profit margins.