runawayinequality

A report from our Wilmington NC appearances and training

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Les was in Wilmington NC on September 19 and 20. George Vlasits, one of the event’s organizers, sent us a report about what went on: On September 19th and 20th a coalition of 15 labor and community groups sponsored a book tour on Runaway Inequality by Les Leopold in Wilmington, North Carolina. The two public events, one at the ILA Union Hall and the other at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, drew 200 activists and students to hear Les’ presentation on “What Happened to the American Dream?” Les also spoke to a sociology class at UNCW and was interviewed …

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Train the Trainer: Open Oakland CA Session

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While in Oakland for the CWA, USW, Sierra Club, Bluegreen Alliance trainings, in September 2017, RI also held its first training open to the community.  While in Oakland we also held our first at-large train-the-trainer, open to anyone in the community. Most of the twenty-four participants came from the Bay area, a few from further afield in California, and three traveled all the way from Ashland, Oregon. Participants were former, current, and new activists involved in organizations like The Incorruptibles, Equitable Food Initiative, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists of America, the Longshore & Warehouse Union, the National Nurses Union, or no organization …

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Labor-Environmental Train-the-Trainer: CWA, USW, Sierra Club, Bluegreen Alliance, in Oakland CA

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This is a report about a Train the Trainer session held in Oakland CA in September 2017, with members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), United Steelworkers (USW), Sierra Club, and BlueGreen Alliance. After a successful pilot workshop with labor and environmental activists earlier this year, Runaway Inequality.org returned to Oakland for a joint two-day train-the-trainer session. Twenty-six newly minted trainers from CWA, USW, the Sierra Club, and the BlueGreen Alliance will take the education back to their locals and chapters. A coordinating team of all four organizations will pair up labor and environmental trainers to bridge the false …

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Training the Trainer: United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9A Conference

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This is a report on recent Runaway Inequality work at the UAW Region 9A Conference, in August 2017. Runaway inequality trainers held workshops for all 120 participants at Region 9A’s annual conference. Trainers ran four simultaneous workshops, including our first ever in Spanish for conference delegates from Puerto Rico. UAW Region 9A director Julie Kushner explained why she invited us. “Since the presidential election, I’ve been thinking we need to do a better job helping our members connect the dots between economic justice and political solutions. I heard about the ‘Runaway Inequality’ education module at the Working Families Party national …

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Wilmington North Carolina Events with Les Leopold

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At 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 19, Les Leopold will give a presentation, What Happened to the American Dream, at the Wilmington ILA Union Hall, 1305 S. Fifth Ave. The public is invited. At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 20, Leopold will reprise his presentation at UNCW, with a Q+A session to follow. Daniel Buffington wrote in the Wilmington Star News this week: “The title of Al Hunt’s Sept. 4 op/ed column, “Flat wages drive instability,” points out how American workers have been left out of economic growth over the past 40 years and the dangers that represents. Workers have not …

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A Book Review from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington Seahawk

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Les Leopold is making an appearance at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington on September 20th. The campus newspaper reviewed his book, Runaway Inequality, recently. You can read the whole review here. The takeaway quote is: “If we all were to talk about this inequality and how it not only affects you but everyone you know, people would start to listen. If more people read Leopold’s book and understood where all the money was “disappearing” to, people would voice their frustrations. No movement for change is done in a small fashion. It might start out that way, but it takes …

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What Do You Think? A New Introduction to the Third Printing of Runaway Inequality.

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[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] After two printings and more than 50,000 copies sold, Runaway Inequality will get a new introduction and a new printing early in 2018. While we discussed a new title for the book, Runaway Inequality in the Age of Trump, we decided to not change the name, but the draft of the new introduction, which follows, discusses what we’ve been doing to reverse runaway inequality, and the changes our new president has brought to the nation. Since you’re likely already familiar with the book and our education program, we’re interested in hearing your …

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Reading Material: Kodak 1987 versus Apple 2017

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The New York Times looks at a janitor at Kodak in 1987 and compares it to the same job at Apple in 2017. Wages in the two jobs are similar after adjusting for inflation, but the differences in benefits and opportunities go a long way toward explaining how and why inequality has become entrenched. Read the story here.

The Financial Strip Mining of Puerto Rico

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(This article was sent to subscribers to RunawayInequality.org. If you would like to receive more content via email about inequality and how to reverse it, sign up here.) How does Wall Street financially strip-mine a country, territory or state? It loans governments more and more money knowing that, no matter what, they have to pay it back — even if it means closing schools, cutting thousands of jobs and turning day-to-day life into misery for working people and the poor. The US territory of Puerto Rico has run up massive debts (approximately $123 billion) in the last 15 years. Programs …

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