pen-l mail

I have not received any email from the list for a couple of days. Is something wrong or is everyone on vacation? michael yates u. of pittsburgh [EMAIL PROTECTED]

right to work states

The right to work states are alabama, arizona, arkansas, florida, georgia, iowa, kansas, louisiana, mississippi, nebraska, nevada, n. carolina, n. dakota, s. carolina, s. dakota, tennessee, texas, utah, virginia, and wyoming. oklahoma is not a right to work state. a right to work state

[PEN-L:3883] wealth data inquiry

Dear pen-lers, Can anyone provide me with good data sources for the distribution of wealth in the U.S.? Thanks in advance. in solidarity, michael yates univ. of pittsburgh at johnstown johnstown, pa. 15904 [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:3884] davis-bacon act

heather grob: I'd like to sign the davis-bacon statement. my fax is 814-269-7255. michael yates dept. of economics univ. of pittsburgh at johnstown johnstown, pa. 15904 814-269-2986 [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:5471] Re: Gintis and all that

Dear Pen-l'ers, It might be useful for someone to dig up the open letter which Bowles and Gintis sent to Clinton in 1992. I found it to be pretty pathetic. I wonder what they think of it now that Clinton has been in office and acted as if he were a reactionary Republican? Bowles and Gintis

[PEN-L:5485] Re: Gintis and all that

in response to gil skillman: again, i'm sorry for suggesting that colleges in small towns are no places for radicals to be. however, i do not sem lot af working class activism coming froo a lot of professors claiming to be radical. but no doubt many of these teach in factory towns and big

[PEN-L:6470] Re: Columbia labor teach-in

Dear friends, Thanks to doug henwood for his comments on the teach-in at Columbia. I am glad to hear that it attracted large and enthusiastic crowds. I do have one point to raise. There were many "stars" of the left there. Let us hope that they are all ready for the long haul. Singularly

[PEN-L:7144] Re: Henwood - Swimming or drawning?

friends, it is hard to see how this discussion of postmodernism could remind anyone of the moscow show trials. try as they might the psotmodernists just do not seem to be able to demonstrate much practical relevance for their ideas. how, for example, will postmodern ideas help rebuild the

[PEN-L:7175] Re: Henwood - Swimming or drawning?

hey jerry, please skip the sanctimonious preaching re: please learn to read more carefully. in solidarity, michael yates

[PEN-L:7176] Re: pol econ PhD programs

friends, i do sign my remarks, "in solidarity" but i don't believe that i've ever made a scurrilous attack on anyone. in solidarity, michael yates

[PEN-L:7677] Re: Ctr for Democ Values

friends, not to beat a dead horse, but if aronson is an academic, he speaks in public every day. he's also a writer whose book received a lot of press. i'll bet he's spoken in public about it and other issues many times. and who is not tired, overworked and so forth. he just had so little

[PEN-L:7644] Re: The Long Term

friends, i have not read rifkin's book, mostly because i think he is something of a charlatan. i have read aronowitz's and difazio's book, and i have written a review of it for science and society. it is not especially well-written and it is full of jargon. it certainly never demonstrates

[PEN-L:8034] Re: contingent work

dear friends, doug has pointed that the bls.s first attempt to quantify the number of contingent workers has yielded results at odds with what many others have assumed to be the case, namely that the number of contingent workers is very large and growing rapidly. this has elicited a number

[PEN-L:8201] speaking engagements

Dear friends, I will be on a leave from the first of May until the end of December. I am interested in moving around the country, meeting activists and perhaps speaking. I will be on the West Coast in September for sure. I have given many talks to college groups and union groups. I know

[PEN-L:8201] speaking engagements

Dear friends, I will be on a leave from the first of May until the end of December. I am interested in moving around the country, meeting activists and perhaps speaking. I will be on the West Coast in September for sure. I have given many talks to college groups and union groups. I know

[PEN-L:8335] Re: Defining economic freedom (fwd)

friends, i don't see what tradeoffs are involved in singapores "freedom" and harsh punishments for noncrimes (re a. dicosta's comments). same goes for cuba's health care and its treatments of homosexuals. why can't a society have both elementary freedoms and low crime, good health care, etc.

[PEN-L:8429] Re: Comm. Abraham testimony on the CPI

Friends, I want to thank Dave Richardson for his BLS Daily Reports and especially for BLS Commissioner Abraham's intereting testimony on proposed CPI changes. Michael Yates

[PEN-L:8883] Re:

friends, i must say from a recent stay in miami and key west that the cuban food seemed pretty bad. i do make a cuban shrimp and rice dish that is good though! michael yates

[PEN-L:8554] request

Friends, I hate to use the list for a personal request, but I promised to fax an article to A.S.Fatemi at the American Univ. in Paris. I can't get through by either fax or phone. So, A.S., if you see this, please let me know if the numbers are correct: phone 33 01 40 62 06 40 fax 33 01 47

[PEN-L:8755] pen-l?

friends, Is pen-l down or what? michael yates

[PEN-L:9344] Re: more requiem

Friends, I am glad that Jim Devine takes the time to write serious responses on pen-l. I certainly second his response to Max S. on social democracy. By the way, if I am not mistaken, Michael Goldfield wrote a piece which did try to demonstrate empitically that the New Deal (specifically

[PEN-L:9302] Re: Britain's New Labour

Friends, The transformation of the British Labor Party is truly pathetic. But perhaps it illustrates a point made by a speaker at the reent Scoialist Scholars Conference. Perhaps capitalism needs a respectable "left". If so, all the more reason why leftists shoud attack social democrats.

[PEN-L:9155] unemployment rates

Friends, Ellen Frank asked about comparative unemployment rates. Look at C. Sorrentino, "International Comparison of Unemployment Indicators," Monthly Labor Review, o.3, 1993, pp. 3-24. Michael Yates

[PEN-L:9154] experimental economics, etc.

Friends, I just read na article in "Lingua Franca" by Rick Perlstein (I think he is also going to do an articel on Bowles and Gintis) on experimental economics. The results of the experimentalists seem to me to be pretty thin. They appear to show that how people behave depnds in large part

[PEN-L:9013] Monthly Review article

Friends, There is an interesting article in the March 1997 issue of Monthly Review by Meera Nanda. The article is about science and more specifically about the deconstruction of it by some of the postmodernists. She is strongly opposed to this deconstruction and tries to show how its

[PEN-L:10193] Re: The EU: against wishful thinking

Friends, I want to second Tom's remarks on this entire globalization debate. We live in specific countries and we have little choice to to act within them. Millions of workers are unorganized and need to be organized. Should we not even try to organize them because capital is now global

[PEN-L:11938] Re: The call for new Teamsters election and Michael

Friends, In additin to the La Botz book reviewed by Louis P., people might want to look at the books by Farrell Dobbs on the Minneapolis Teamsters revolution in the 1930s. michael yates

[PEN-L:12082] Re: Borscht Belt Reds

Friends, Thanks, louis, for the interesting recounting of your visit to the catskills. If I am not mistaken, the Foner brothers had a band when they were young. By the way is there any more prolific historian than Philip Foner? michael yates

[PEN-L:12392] Re: Affluenza

Friends, I want to support Louis's comments on the AFFLUENZA program. It was, to my wife and I, pretty superficial. Plus, a lot of attention was given to rightwing religius nuts from Colorado Springs who are preaching less consumerism and more god and family. Also, thow yung women in the

[PEN-L:12393] Re: 1997-09-12 Abraham Nom inated Bureau/Labor Sta

Friends, let me second Max's note on commissioner Abraham. michael yates

[PEN-L:12488] travels

Friends, My wife and I are going to be driving cross country starting this Monday. We should hit the west coast in Seattle in about a week. then we are going down the coast to LA and then winding our way back. I've got an 800 number connection to the internet, so I can be reached by email.

Re: UAW finances (cont.)

Friends, the uaw/gm "paid education leave fund" financed by gm contributions through the collective barg. agreement has over 900 million dollars in it. This is supposed to be used to promote "jointness" but the money is more than can be spent. all uaw children may soon be getting

Re: Full translation of Castro speech

Friends, Wow! Fidel's address to the Pope is amazing. It has great power and emotional weight. Thaks to Louis for posting it. Michael yates

request

Dear Friends, I have written a book, titled "Why Union Matter," which will be published very shortly by Monthly review Press. It is an introduction to unions and the labor movement in the U.S., written in an easy to understand style and aimed at working people, labor educators, and other

[PEN-L:2870] unemployment in puerto rico

Dear friends, i badly need some information on unemployment in puerto rico, now and in the past. can anyone help? thanks. in solidarity, michael yates [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:3132] book about labor films

Dear friends, Recently someone posted a note about a forthcoming book or pamphlet about labor films to be published shortly. Could the person who posted this or anyone who remembers it send me the details? Thanks. in solidarity, michael yates [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:3600] Re: Support Striking Workers at Yale

Dear friends, Please add my name to the Yale letter. Michael Yates Professor of Economics University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Johnstown, PA 15904 in solidarity, michael yates

[PEN-L:3847] request

Dear friends, i have to calculate a fair market value for a small seafood wholesaler. this is not my cup of tea. can anyone give me a good textbook with clear and easy to follow analysis? i figure it can't be too difficult if my business colleagues can do it. thanks. in solidarity,

[PEN-L:3983] info request

Dear friends, i need the following information asap: 1. what proportion of the members of the u.s. armed forces is african american? 2. are african americans disproportionately employed by small (however defined) employers? thanks for any help? michael yates [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:3233] Re: Buchanan

Dear friends, I agree with Mike Meeropol about Buchanan. In a class I was teaching to local unionists in Johnstown, PA in labor economics, some students expressed some support for Buchanan because he was the only candidate talking about thei issues that they were worried about. When I

[PEN-L:11985] Re: Big mouth

Friends, We don't wnat to miss the truth that it became public policy some time ago to throw people with serious mental illnesses out into the streets. I'm not saying that the institutions were good because they most certainly were not. But our society does precious little for the

[PEN-L:11986] Re: THE FIGHT IN THE FIELDS (fwd)

Friends, I will be interested to see the Chavez film. Chavez was a great leader but one with significant flaws, flaws which helped to nearly destroy the movement he did so much to build. He was fanatically paranoid, never let anyone other than himself make any decisions in the union,

[PEN-L:10865] request

Friends, Can anyone direct me to sources on the following: 1. History of the German labor movement. 2. Materialist analysis on the origins of religion. Thanks in advance. Michael Yates

[PEN-L:10891] religion

Yesterday I posted a rquest for sources on the origins of religion (Marxist preferably) and got no response. Yet we now are having a discussion of religion. So let me repeat my request. Am I mistaken or has it been suggestd in recent posts that religion has an anti-consumerist bent?

[PEN-L:11214] query

Friends, Is Dave Richardson of the BLS Daily Reports off the list. I'm trying to get in touch with him. Michael Yates

[PEN-L:11253] Re: bingo

Well doug, now you know you are in the know, with a pathetic review like this one. All the typical shit of the pro-capitalists: bash you by comparing the worst of socialism with the best of capitalism, conveniently forgetting slavery, the slaughter of Native Americans, etc., etc., etc. I'd

[PEN-L:11333] Re: Special Edition of Monthly Review on Labor

friends, we are planning to do a book based on the special issue of monthly review on labor. we are looking for more articles for the book. some topics would be labor movemnets in china and vietnam, in germany and western europe, in the former soviet union and eastern europe, latin

[PEN-L:11622] Re: The Beats

Friends, I think that Jim Craven's attack on the "Beats" is a little overboard. It's hard to see how a radical person could not be moved by allen ginsburg's "America" or "kaddish" and many others. I'm not excusing the way they lived or some of their more outrageous acts of sexism, etc. But

[PEN-L:11813] comments

Friends, I applaud the efforts of Michael E. in posting all of the info on the UPS strike. These are very useful to anyone interested in the strike and/or wanting to make public comments on it. Keep up the good work. I also applaud Louis P's recent posting on his visit to the jazz club.

[PEN-L:11614] Re: William S. Burroughs

friends, I think that burrough's books, "Junkie" and "Queer" are well worth reading. i might also say that burroughs was a pretty poor father. the biography, "literary outlaw" is very good. michael yates

[PEN-L:11334] references on immigration

friends, i need some references on immigration (economics, politics, unions and, etc.) i need them fast! thanks. michael yates

[PEN-L:11241] Re: Latest Monthly Review

friends, Iwant to thank louis p. for favorably commenting on the summer special issue of "monthly review" on labor movements. i hope pen-lers will check it out and recommend it to others. MR is looking for other articles on this topic, i.e. on woemn in th eworld's labor movemtns and on

[PEN-L:11021] Re: [NYT,MH,AP] Leaders Honor a Union Giant, (fwd)

Friends, The death of Mexican labor leader, Fidel Velasquez, marks hopefully the end of a thoroughly corrupt union movemnt, or at least the beginning of the. Pen-L readers may be interested in the special summer issue of "Monthly Review" which is dedicated to the revival of world labor

[PEN-L:10857] Re: Juliet Schor on Consumerism

Friends, In classes which I have been teaching to auto workers near Pittsburgh, I have discussed overwork. Some workers at this plant are working 7 days a week, sometimes 10 hours a day and a few make over $100,000 per year. I suggested that this could not be sustained and took a heavy toll

Re: teamsters

friends, nobody is talking about boyscouts here, just some pretty sleazy operations. as to the initiative being carey's we'll have to wait and see what comes out. by the way, i don't consider the tdu to be a bunch of boyscouts. i was never one either! michael yates

Re: utopias

friends, but i want to know which of our current jobs are good ones, wqhich could be mde into good ones (for our future good society), whihc would have to be eliminatedaltogether or done by machines, etc? michael yates

european economies

Friends, I was talking with a friend from Austria last night. He told me that the Austrian economy was doing remarkably well with reasonably low unemployment, low inflation, high living standards, etc. plus remarkably high productivity. Does anyone out there have a take on Austria. Is this

Re: Marxism and Native Americans

Friends, I want to applaud Louis's inquiries into the struggles of indigenous peoples. I wonder what sort of radical it is who does not stand up forthrightly for the rights of indigenous peoples just to exist as independent cultures. And it is not as if we do not have much to learn (about

Re: Fixing on LM

Friends, The mission statemnt of LM does, indeed, seem to be libertarian in content and not very radical. There is a big difference between learning about our limits as we struggle to create a better world and the state and the capitalists telling us to restrain ourselves. In addition, I am

Re: Native American land rights

Friends, I want to thank Tom Kruse for his insightful comments on indingenous peoples. As I said in a previous post, thee is much to learn from indigenous peoples. I hope others sho have knowledge will contribure. michael yates

good jobs

Friends, Suppose that we took all of the jobs in the U.S. or any similar economy and asked, what fraction of these jobs are "good" jobs. By good I mean not just decent wages and benefits and reasonable hours (no doubt this eliminates a lot of jobs already) but jobs which allow the holder to

info request

Friends, I am writing a book of essays about work. Recent citations on the following subjects would be very much appreciated: 1. Polls of the degree to which people are satisfied with their jobs. 2. The economics of discrimination. 3. The economics of schooling. Thanks in advance. You

Re: teamsters

friends, if the teamsters' troubles do not demonstrate the complete bankruptcy of the afl-cio's junior partnership with the democratic party, what does? can we imagine anything much worse than this debacle? what a catastrophe for the labor movement. why didn't carey stick with the people

Re: A trip upstate

Friends, Thanks to Louis for his description of a trip home. He mentions Edwin Dmytryk, the director and one of the Hollywood Ten. He was also the only one of the ten to recant and give testimony to the witch hunters in Congress. He has written an interesting book, "Odd Man Out." I

Re: [PEN-L] Re: value, again

Friends, I do not know why comrade Levy is so bitter. Who needs this stuff? I doubt Doug needs to go back to school though it would be nice to think of pen-l as a school in which we all can learn rahter than make smart aleck remarks. michael yates

Re: ripening contradictions?

friends, it seems hard to believe that micxhael moore can be called a hypocrite. in what sense? he certainly puts his money where his mouth is, by, for example, giving time and money to the workers at borders to help their union drives, as well as allowing his new film to be used for

Re: protecting the weak

friends, thanks to robert saute for his comments on friedman speaking. friedman is one of the most odious economists around. even some on the nobel committee did not support him, one presumably becasue of his penchant for misusing data. michael yates

[PEN-L:4331] advocacy in the classroom

Dear friends: Some time ago Jim Devine made a comment about Noam Chomsky in which he said that Chomsky's style is often too strident (not Jim's exact words) and that this often puts people off and prevents them from appreciating the brilliance of Chomsky's message. I've been thinking about

[PEN-L:4529] query

Dear Pen-l'ers, Does anyone out there know of an attorney in the Seattle/Tacoma area who is knowledgeable in the area of civil rights law. Or does anyone know an organization or a person who might know of such an attorney? A group out there needs such an attorney for an unusual and

[PEN-L:4655] tqm in higher ed

Dear pen'lers, There is a decent article on tqm in higher ed in mike parker's and jane slaughter's new book, "working smart" published by labor notes. The article also contains references. in solidarity michael yates univ. of pittsburgh at johnstown johnstown, pa. 15904 [EMAIL

[PEN-L:5849] query

Dear pen-lers: I need to find data on the distribution of African-American workers by industry and by occupation. Can anybody help? Thanks. in solidarity, michael yates dept. of economics u. of pittsburgh at johnstown johnstown, pa. 15904 [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:55] query

Dear pen-lers, In your opinion, what are the best book and/or article(s) written in defense of the labor theory of value? By "best" I mean in terms of both rigor and readability. Thanks. in solidarity, michael yates economics u. of pittsburgh-johnstown johnstown, pa. 15904 [EMAIL

[PEN-L:267] advice on article

Dear friends, I have been a labor educator for many years. Recently I wrote a paper titled "Progressive Labor Education and the New World Order." In it I argue that the demise of the "red menace" weakens the strength of the official ideology of anticommunism. This in turn opens up

[PEN-L:339] book request

Dear friends, I have just finished reading "Black Lamb, Grey Falcon", Rebecca West's powerful and moving account of a trip through Yugoslavia in the late 1930s. Now I would like to read a book about the World War Two period and the rise of Tito in Yugoslavia. Can anyone recommend a

[PEN-L:495] trying to locate someone

Dear friends, On behalf of a friend, I am trying to locate an economist by the name of Doug Koritz. He taught at the University of Pittsburgh during the 1970s and then moved to Massachusetts. Please reply to me directly. Thanks. in solidarity michael yates [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:696] Re: Greenspan and the other boyz in the hood

Dear pen-lers, I want to support Michael Perelman's view that government economic policies, to the extent that they cause unemployment to increase, are acts of murder. In fact, I have said just this in my book, "Longer Hours, Fewer Jobs." I often teach working people through Penn

[PEN-L:751] Re: Mike Albert's response to Louis Proyect

Dear pen-lers: So, brother Proyect is going to mercilessly attack the politics of Z Magazine and South End Press. Well, good luck. It seems to me that both are radical organizations with radical politics. They publish articles and books with various leftist perspectives, while at

[PEN-L:999] paper i wrote

Dear pen-lers, I have written a paper titled "The Responsibilities of Working Class Academics." I read it at a conference at Youngstown State U. at a conference on Working Class Studies/Working Class Lives. People seemed to like the paper and I got a lot of requests for copies. I'd be

[PEN-L:1516] aronowitz

Dear pen-lers, A comrade on pen-l by the name of Shawgi Tell sent a message commenting on Aronowitz's book "False Promises." I would like to know what Shawgi has to say about this book. However, I was not able to connect directly by email. So if you see this message Shawgi, please

[PEN-L:1946] address of covert action

Dear friends, A week or so ago, someone posted a recommendation that we read the fall issue of the magazine "Covert Action." Does anyone have an address and phone number? I'll be gateful to anyone who can send these to me. Thanks. in solidarity, michael yates [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[PEN-L:1947] the state of the labor movement

Dear friends, I have been asked to write an article for Monthly Review on the state of the U.S. labor movement. I'd be interested to know what others think. What things will determine the extent to which the labor movement will be renewed? Is there anything special I should read? Are

[PEN-L:8380] Re: current events: increased job insecurity?

friends, i want to thank jim devine for his interesting post on employment trends. in a recent article of "the nation" there is a good article about mexican workers at meatplanting plants in iowa. these jobs are not contingent in the way the bls defines this, but the job security of the

[PEN-L:8342] Re: Defining economic freedom (fwd)

friends, in reply to a. d'costa's last post, why would a society need to punish (deter) people for homosexuality or chewing gum? i'll wager brother d'costa that unless an opposition movement forces the issue, singapore will be repressive long into the future. michael yates

[PEN-L:8517] Re: capital mobility restrictions

Friends, There is an interesting article by Jim Crotty and Gerald Epstein in the 1996 issue of the "Socialist Register." It is titled, "In defence of capital controls." This book can be obtained from Monthly Review Press. Michael Yates

[PEN-L:8523] Re: capital mobility restrictions

Dear comrade Fatemi, The email address of monthly review is [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you like I can send you a copy of the article or even fax it if you are in a hurry. let me know michael yates

[PEN-L:7514] Re: Ctr for Democ Values

friends, in response to jim westrich's comments on ron aronson's presentation at the midwest radical actviists confernece, i wasn't criticizing his lack of vitality, just his lack of much of anything to say. i know he was pinch hitting for another person, but he's a practiced speaker, so i

[PEN-L:8076] Re: Juggling Big Brother's Books

friends, while as max says, good data does not a revolution make, working people need to know the truth about the world around them. many a worker has told me that the data i presented had really opened his or her eyes. of course, i wondered why their unions had not bothered to do likewise.