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 teac
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
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 scholarship
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
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
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 eg
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 tr
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
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 en
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 c
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
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 who
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 similar
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
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
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 reviewed
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.
Friends,
let me second Max's note on commissioner Abraham.
michael yates
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 ws
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
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, continu
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 afflicted.
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
Friends,
Every time I feel like bashing someone on the list, he or she goes and says
something which hits home. I remember Jim C's story about his father's
experience with the APLA union. And, I have read many by Louis P. which are so
thoughtful, I get a little jealous. There are a couple o
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. Lou
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
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
friends,
i need some references on immigration (economics, politics, unions and, etc.) i
need them fast! thanks.
michael yates
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 america,e
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 b
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 moveme
Friends, Is Dave Richardson of the BLS Daily Reports off the list. I'm trying
to get in touch with him.
Michael Yates
Friends,
Those who saw Doug's post about his talk at Borders in the World Trade Center
might be interested to know that the 100 or so workers there just voted in favor
of a union by a wide margin. They will now begin to negotiate for a contract. I
had occassion to speak at one of their rallie
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 moveme
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? (somehow
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
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
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 and
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 the
Friends,
i'll ignore max's sarcasm. however, to get at what i mean by atttacking the
social democratic solutions to capitalism's crisis, i urge pen-lers, and especially
max,
to read the interesting piece by greg albo in the december, 1996 "monthly
review." it is titled, "the world economy,
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.
M
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
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 o
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 adherent
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
friends,
Is pen-l down or what?
michael yates
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 53
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
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
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
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 work
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
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.
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 th
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 th
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.
friends,
jim craven has a good point about relying on survey questions to ascertain how
workers feel. in his interesting book, "just a temp" kevin henson examines
temporary work through participant observation and in-depth interviews. most of
the temps (mostly office workers) describe their
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 of
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 t
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 t
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 do
dear friends,
i note with interest the post on the center for democratic values. i recently
heard ron aronson speak in chicago at a radical scholar's conference. i must
say that i was not very favorably impressed with what he had to say. his
discussion of values was pretty vague, and i know
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
hey jerry,
please skip the sanctimonious preaching re: please learn to read more
carefully.
in solidarity,
michael yates
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 lab
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
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 citi
in reply to robert pollin, of course i did not mean to criticize the
many good people at umass/amherst. still, though, amherst struck me
as an awfully "precious" little place. in any event, i do apologize
for perhaps implying what Pollin suggests I did.
in solidarity,
michael yates
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
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]
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,
micha
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
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
point
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]
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]
I got exactly the same response as did Doug Henwood from Yale in
response to my complaint to the president of yale about its treatment
of its grad students' attempt to form a union!
in solidarity,
michael yates
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 ther
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]
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
Dear pen-lers,
This is to the lawyers and legal experts on the list. What rights do
students with disabilities have vis-a-vis their teachers. That is,
what accomodations can a teacher be expected to make for disabled
students? I'd be interested in articles or court case citations.
Please
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 happ
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
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 St
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]
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
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
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 PR
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]
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 PROTEC
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
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 t
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]
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]
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 makes
I am interested in participating in the political economy dictionary
project, in particular the section on work and labor. I tried to
email directly to our friend in australia but my message was rejected.
Perhaps the persons in charge of the project can contact me directly.
Thanks.
in solid
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]
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