Inequality in America
Retirement funds in danger for millions of Americans
By Mike Bryan, March 6, 2009
For millions of Americans, the deepening recession has meant a dramatic drop in funds put aside for their retirement. Companies have stopped making matching 401(k) contributions, and many workers have...
After freezing death of 93-year-old, Michigan city suspends electricity shutoffs
By Tom Eley, January 30, 2009
Amidst widening public outrage over the freezing death of 93-year-old Marvin Schur, municipal authorities in Bay City, Michigan have announced plans to temporarily suspend the utility shutoffs. Since ...
Michigan man, 93, freezes to death after city cuts off electricity
By Tom Eley and Jerry White, January 28, 2009
The frozen body of 93-year-old Marvin E. Schur was found by neighbors at his home in Bay City, Michigan, several days after the municipal power company had restricted his access to electricity due to ...
Poverty wages for day laborers recruited for inauguration
By Jeff Lassahn, January 20, 2009
The Labor Ready temp agency in Virginia offered $7.55 an hour for day laborers to work the inauguration festivities in Washington DC—picking up trash and horse manure in freezing cold weather for lo...
US: Economic stress drives rise in child abuse and domestic violence
By Kate Randall, December 30, 2008
Social service agencies across the US are seeing growing numbers of domestic violence and child abuse cases as the economic crisis deepens.
House fire in Philadelphia kills seven
By Naomi Spencer, December 29, 2008
An intense house blaze has claimed seven lives in a working class neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
US: Homelessness on the rise in San Francisco
By Marge Holland, December 29, 2008
Local charities in the San Francisco Bay Area are seeing a sharp increase in those without shelter or food, as well as a change in the composition of the needy.
Children displaced by Katrina face severe health risks
By Debra Watson, December 11, 2008
Thousands of children displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina are suffering serious illness or chronic conditions of ill health, according to a recent report by the Children’s Health Fund (C...
A great step forward
December 9, 2008
The occupation of Republic Windows and Doors by 250 workers in Chicago, Illinois is an important step forward and one that deserves the full support of the working class throughout the country and int...
US: The social and historical roots of the Highland Park fire tragedy
By Tom Eley, December 6, 2008
Conditions in Highland Park provide a microcosm of the rise and decline of heavy industry, and especially auto manufacturing, in the US. The city saw the deaths of three young children and their aunt ...
Layoffs soar as US plunges deeper into recession
By Barry Grey, December 4, 2008
New economic reports show that the severity of the US recession and the speed with which it is developing are greater than anticipated by economists and business forecasters. Data released Wednesday r...
Obama warns US governors of “hard choices”
By Tom Eley, December 3, 2008
The president-elect warned governors at the Philadelphia conference to be prepared to make sharp cuts in social spending in the months ahead.
