On September 1, a new contractor, Novel Service Group, replaced the prior cleaning contractor. Novel Service Group went on to cut the wages of the janitorial staff in half and eliminated their health insurance and pension benefits. As business owners and tenants at 295 Madison Avenue and nearby, we believe that the best possible investment in New York's economic future is by making sure people have good jobs with good benefits and wages. That is why we’re urging the Eretz Group to ensure that a responsible janitorial contractor returns to 295 Madison; a contractor that will restore the wages and benefits for the hardworking men and women that clean 295 Madison . These building workers need good jobs with decent wages in order to properly care for themselves and their families. Join us in demanding good jobs with good wages and dignity for these hard-working building service workers!

The way to boost incomes and employment, raise tax revenues and lower budget deficits is to grow the economy. That can only be done by getting money into the hands of consumers via community banks, credit unions, infrastructure improvements, personal and business loans, and into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. $2 trillion injected over time will produce $12 trillion in GDP, $10 trillion in income, 50 million new jobs, and $4.8 trillion in new tax revenues to balance the budget and lower the debt. Let the Fed sell a new round of bonds and direct all sales proceeds into M1, the source of all new growth.

MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton and Lawrence O’Donnell are strong defenders of labor and progressive causes. And now they have a chance to stand up for workers at NBC. Producers and associate producers for Peacock Productions—which is owned by NBC and creates nonfiction and reality programming for MSNBC, NBC, CNBC and other networks—have been trying to organize for fair pay and better working conditions for more than a year. But Peacock has fought them at every turn. After workers started to organize, Peacock began to hold mandatory group and one-on-one meetings to badmouth unions. Despite that, workers persisted and finally got to vote on whether to unionize. But Peacock has used legal tactics to impound the ballots and stall workers from getting the voice on the job they deserve. Peacock workers have called on Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton and Lawrence O’Donnell to stand with them. It’s time these MSNBC hosts practice what they preach and support the rights of these producers and associate producers to organize.

I'm Just Mad As Hell. Tired of Congress' disrespect and disregard of the voters and the office of the President of the U.S. The Tea Party Congress would be pleased if we reverted to the old Jim Crow Laws. Why are they so against abortions? Because White Women have a lower birth rate. They are no longer the majority. Why are they so against the IRS? Because the IRS is scheduled to hire more workers to handle Obama Care. ACA is Obama's Katrina. Not even close. I'm tired of the News Media not correcting the Fox news and Republican lies. Media turned against the President when the government went after the person who leeked information to the press. If no one else noticed these things I have and more.

"Over 10,000 ex-prisoners are released from America’s state and federal prisons every week and arrive on the doorsteps of our nation's communities. More than 650,000 ex-offenders are released from prison every year, and studies show that approximately two-thirds will likely be rearrested within three years of release" according to USDOJ website. President George Bush stated in his 2004 State of the Union Address, "“This year, some 600,000 inmates will be released from prison back into society. We know from long experience that if they can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit more crimes and return to prison…. America is the land of the second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.” If someone can reach the 5 year mark without re-offending, they should be able to be able to obtain gainful employment at their skill level. What many people do not know is that even to work at McDonald's these days you have to go through a background check. A lot of employers have moved to online applications that automatically screen applicants by doing a background check! Think about this for a second, what does a background check of more than 5 years do? Are you the same person you were 6 years ago? Have you grown mentally and spiritually in that time? Many states are already implementing this and seeing that recidivism drops because you put the ability for felons to be able to make an honest living. Is a career criminal really going to be trying to get a job at a big corporation? If so shouldn't the companies interview process eliminate these people instead of throwing everyone that ever made a big mistake into that group? Being turned down time and time again because of something that was done in the past is demoralizing. It's just not fair! I say put and end to background checks after 5 years and it will make the world a better place for everyone!

There is so much evidence to support the fact that Fluoride is harmful and not helpful to our health. Just do a quick internet search for "fluoride in drinking water" if you want the details. We won't sit back and allow our cities to be poisoned through our water supplies and we shouldn't have to purchase expensive reverse-osmosis machines to remove Fluoride from the water in our homes. It just doesn't need to be added and shouldn't continue to be added to our water. Let us decide what we put in the water we drink. Period!!

Rockstars' 1.06 Update disabled us to do this in any way.

Boundary Stone, a local restaurant in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, DC, tweeted out a petition opposing a minimum wage increase for tipped workers. Many people who live off of tips can't afford basic necessities. Tipped employees in DC make $2.77 an hour. This is too low. Boundary Stone should apologize for taking this public stance and should voluntarily raise the wages for their tipped employees. To learn more about what it's like to live off of tips, here is a great video from the Restaurant Opportunity Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc_8uDr-ce0 Boundary Stone's tweet is here: https://twitter.com/BoundaryStoneDC/status/402856058005114880

This holiday season, a Walmart store in Canton, OH is having a food drive. How nice. Except this food drive is for its own employees. Yes, you read that correctly. Walmart pays so little that a charity food drive seems like a good idea. But this is just the latest illustration of the poverty wages Walmart pays its employees. Clearly, it's time for Walmart to start paying it workers a wage they can live on. Sign our petition to Walmart Chairman S. Robson Walton, demanding Walmart start to pay its employees a living wage. Walmart's shady employment practices are well known. Instead of paying employees enough to eat, Walmart pays them so little that many qualify for food stamps. Instead of giving them a good health plan, Walmart pays them so little they qualify for Medicaid and food stamps. This is how Walmart uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize astronomical profits for its owners, the Walton family -- a family which is currently worth as much as the bottom 30% of American families combined. Having a food drive for your own employees illustrates Walmart's shameless labor practices. Sign our petition to Walmart Chairman S. Robson Walton today, demanding Walmart start to pay its employees a living wage. Thank you, Erin Wagner Digital Director Progressives United Progressives United was founded by former Senator Russ Feingold in February of 2011 to combat the corrupting influence of corporate money in our elections and government.

The Montgomery County Public School Superintendent Joshua Starr has proposed to change the schedule of “bell times” (begin and end times) for all schools to accommodate a later start time for high school students. There are several options on the table that propose to end the elementary school day and even middle school day well after 3:30. (For children being dismissed as late at 4:00, this means getting home or settled into after-care no sooner than 4:30pm leaving very little time before sunset.) The proposal cites the benefits for health, well being and safety of high school teens as the primary reason for this change. The proposal does NOT however consider the effects of a later end time on elementary school students or young middle school students. The negative effects on a later end time for elementary school students, young middle school children and families include: -The CDC recommends that children should get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Currently students get only 30 minutes of recess during school hours. (And that is only on warm and sunny days. MANY days in the winter months the kids are kept inside all day with no active recess.) Ending school later robs the opportunity for additional outside play, after school sports activities or any other outdoor exercise. -The American Academy of Pediatrics has recognized the importance of unstructured play in children's daily lives. They have stated that even children who are benefiting from structured academics "still need some free unscheduled time for creative growth, self-reflection, and decompression and would profit from the unique developmental benefits of child-driven play." A late end of school day takes that time away from children. -Teachers and research state that time of day has a direct effect on young kids including how well they can pay attention, discipline issues and learning in general. Kids are ready to learn early but naturally tire out in the late afternoon. -Elementary school children and young middle school children generally go to bed much earlier than high school children. A later end time leaves very little time at the end of the day which impacts: -Family time: the same amount of time will be spent on homework, dinner, baths, etc. so family time will suffer. -Homework: children who are overtired at the end of the day from having a compressed schedule will resist the evening activities including homework and family responsibilities. VISIT MCPS WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/belltimes/index.aspx PLEASE ALSO EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS DIRECTLY TO MCPS: [email protected]

$665 million. That’s how much Oregon taxpayers will fork over in the next two years for corporate tax subsidies intended for economic development. And what are we getting in return? Jobs? More revenue? Investments in communities? We don’t know because state officials won’t tell us. With the stroke of a pen, Governor Kitzhaber could bring Oregonians the transparency they deserve. Powerful interests want to keep these deals a secret, but we can get the Governor to act if we keep up the pressure. That’s why he needs to hear from you.

The fields at Bristol Central are not sufficient. They present a safety hazard and disadvantage for both teams. It's time that we get a facility that supports our hardworking and dedicated athletes.