Tag Archives: feature

Home, Urban Studies

Bringing Neighborhoods Wealth — Not Gentrification

By Marjorie Kelly and Sarah McKinley 

This article was originally featured at Yes! Magazine and adapted from Cities Building Community Wealth, a project of The Democracy Collaborative, for New Economy Week.

In cities across the nation, a few enjoy rising affluence while many struggle to get by.

An August 2015 study by The Century Foundation reported that—after a dramatic decline in concentrated poverty between 1990 and 2000—poverty has since reconcentrated. Nationwide, the number of people  living in high-poverty ghettos and slums has nearly doubled since 2000. This situation is created in part by the practices of traditional economic development, which prioritize corporate subsidy after corporate subsidy over the needs of the local economy. Current trends threaten to worsen, unless we can answer the design challenge before us.

Can we create an economic system—beginning at the local level—that builds the wealth and prosperity of everyone? Continue reading Bringing Neighborhoods Wealth — Not Gentrification →

Faculty Writing, Home, Labor Studies, Murphy News

Stephanie Luce Talks Civil Disobedience, Arrest at PSC Action

All photos via PSC-CUNY.org.

On Wednesday, PSC-CUNY members demonstrated in response to 6 years without a contract at CUNY Central Administrative offices, where about 50 people were arrested. Prof. Stephanie Luce, one of many Murphy Institute community members who participated in the action, and one of four who were arrested, talks about her experience below:

Q. Why did you participate in the CD action?

A. I decided to participate in the civil disobedience action because I want to defend the idea of CUNY: a great public institution that is supported by the city and state. CUNY was created to provide a top-quality education to the people of New York City, and it is also a large employer providing good jobs to tens of thousands of people.110415rally30 Continue reading Stephanie Luce Talks Civil Disobedience, Arrest at PSC Action →

Home

Why America Needs Worker Co-Ops More Than Ever

Featured photo credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung, via Flickr CC

This article originally appeared at Triple Pundit.

By Daniel Faris

America is no longer a representative democracy—a fact underscored by decades of grotesque and steadily worsening economic inequality and an election process that depends more on wealthy donors than on an informed electorate.

Case in point: the middle class has been shrinking for decades and is now in the process of disappearing altogether. Since 1979, 90 percent of the economically-challenged have lost money each year, while the wealthiest 10 percent have posted huge gains, according to Forbes (and any reputable economist). The American dream is all but dead for the vast majority of us, with 1% of the population controlling 43% of the nation’s wealth.

Self-determination in the workplace could be one of the keys we need to empower and grow the working class in our nation and re-igniting the American dream. And worker-owned cooperatives could be the match that lights that flame. Continue reading Why America Needs Worker Co-Ops More Than Ever →

Home, New Labor Forum

“Black Lives Matter/Fight For $15: A New Social Movement” Sparks Conversation

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On October 19th, the Murphy Institute had a packed house for “Black Lives Matter/Fight For $15: A New Social Movement,” sponsored by the Murphy Institute and the Sidney Hillman Foundation.

The forum panelists highlighted that the growing movements, Black Lives Matter and Fight For $15, share in the struggle for access to justice and equality. These movements not only intersect but recognize that together there is the opportunity to create significant change. Continue reading “Black Lives Matter/Fight For $15: A New Social Movement” Sparks Conversation →

Home, Union Semester

Spend This Spring in the NYC Labor Movement!

“It let me know that there are ways to have a career in social activism…I can say that this is the most I ever learned in one semester of my life.”   – student participant

New York Union Semester pairs students with union internships and Labor Studies classes. Dig deep into a movement for worker’s rights and social change this semester!

group photo 2 ed.

• Intern four days a week with a union or worker organization in New York City. Students might get experience in research, organizing, public policy, communications, workforce development, and more.
• Enroll in Labor Studies courses at the Murphy Institute and earn a Certificate in Labor Studies from the CUNY School of Professional Studies.
• Take advantage of many networking opportunities in the labor movement and get to know the New York City labor movement from the inside.
• Earn a $7,000 living stipend and scholarship to help cover costs of tuition (all in-state), fees and living expenses.

 

While we accept applications on a rolling basis, you should submit your application and other application materials by November 10th, if you are applying for the Spring Semester.

Find more information and the application at www.unionsemester.org.

Information on tuition and fees available here.

Watch our coordinator talk about the program, then call or email at 212-642-2075 or sarah.hughes@cuny.edu.

Dates for the Spring 2016 Semester:

First day of orientation: January 25, 2016

First day of internship: February 1, 2016

Last day of internship: May 12, 2016

Last day of program/celebration: May 20, 2016

 

Home, Labor Studies, Urban Studies

State Workers Sucker-Punched in Fight for $15 Proposal

Workers in New York State have reason to be excited: Governor Andrew Cuomo has taken steps toward raising the statewide minimum wage to $15. To many, this might seem like an obvious victory for workers and activists who have been engaged in the long fight for $15/hr. But, as Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37 — New York City’s largest public-sector union — argues in City & State, it might not be quite the win that it appears to be:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently called for raising New York’s minimum wage to $15, which, if enacted, would be the highest statewide minimum wage in the country.

“It’s wrong to have any economy where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, where the American dream of mobility and opportunity has become more of a cruel myth,” Cuomo declared in announcing the plan.

Indeed, at a time when workers throughout the country have been plagued by stagnant wages, the “Fight for $15” is a worthy battle that deserves all of our support. Continue reading State Workers Sucker-Punched in Fight for $15 Proposal →