In a June, 2004, speech John Kerry brought a New Jersey crowd to its feet when he declared: “It’s time once and for all we change the laws so workers can organize when a majority of them wants to, without intimidation and interference from management.” Memorable words. But if you don’t recall them, you’re not […]
Jim Grossfeld
Jim Grossfeld, who is a frequent contributor to the Prospect, lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
Posted inDispatches
Labor Gains?
“City and state, please?” For a moment I think the voice at the other end of the phone belongs to a telephone operator, but I’ve been conned: I’m talking to a piece of voice-recognition technology. Over the course of the last two decades, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has seen the loss of thousands […]
Posted inDispatches
A Temporary Fix
With the White House and congressional conservatives ramping up to make the coming four years as memorable as the last, it is easy to miss some of their less conspicuous exploits. Many of those have taken place at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has issued multiple decisions that are costing millions of Americans […]
Posted inArticle
Losing Lansing
Count me among the many whose lives were touched by Ronald Reagan. For me, it began in 1980 in Lansing, Michigan. I was living on the city’s east side, an older neighborhood tucked between Michigan State University and the big Oldsmobile plant. That year I was the Democratic nominee for the Ingham County Board of […]
Posted inArticle
Ambassador’s Journal
John D. Negroponte is expected to be the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. Jim Grossfeld recently unearthed pages from the future journal of the ambitious diplomat: Day 1 Dear Diary, As the jet entered Iraqi airspace, I felt humbled by the enormity of the task before me, but almost giddy over the possibilities. With all the […]
Posted inArticle
Unhealthy Choice
With the exception of U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson’s appearance before the Supreme Court on Tuesday — to argue against affirmative action in the University of Michigan cases — few within the Republican Party seem to have much to say these days about racial reconciliation. It’s a far cry from the way things were last […]
Posted inArticle
The Espy Award
If Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is on the same career track as Boston’s Bernard Cardinal Law, it’s not too soon to consider what will become of Lott’s Senate seat should he opt for retirement over a return to the back benches. Recent history offers little guidance to governors faced with filling a Senate […]