"The most powerful woman in the labor movement," Burger talks about the EFCA, sharing the prosperity, and why labor unions aren't just good for union members, but for all workers.
Bio
Anna Burger
Hailed by Fortune Magazine as "the most powerful woman in the labor movement," Anna Burger is Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union and Chair of Change to Win. The two million member SEIU is the largest union of health care and property service workers, the second-largest public employee union, and the most diverse union in North America.
Burger oversees SEIU's political operations and grassroots election work, which helped elect President Obama. She plays a major role in developing the infrastructure of the progressive movement to strengthen its voice and reach. An outspoken voice on the role unions can play to restore economic fairness, Burger was appointed to serve on the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
Burger began her career in 1972 as a rank-and-file Pennsylvania state caseworker and union activist before her election as SEIU Local 668's first female president and later became SEIU's national field director. Throughout her career, she has pushed labor to deepen its commitment to equality for all.
Drummond Pike
Drummond Pike is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tides. Awarded as an Outstanding Foundation Professional, Pike helped pioneer the advent of donor advised funds in philanthropy.
Through his leadership, Tides has helped increase the capacity and effectiveness of thousands of social change organizations. Pike was a founder and Associate Director of the Youth Project in Washington, DC, and served as Executive Director of the Shalan Foundation from 1976 to 1981. He was among the original founders of Working Assets, a telecommunications company dedicated to progressive philanthropy and political activism.
Whats funny about her maps in chapter 3, is that the states with the highest union percentages also have the highest taxes (perhaps political corruption to, but that is debatable).
I know from my experiences in NY and Cali that there is a lot of redundancy and inefficiency mostly at the public sector but also in certain corrupt private sectors like construction and plumbing/electrical work, these services cost a lot more than they did while I lived in NC and CO.
I agree that a strong middle class is one of the most important things to a healthy national economy but this correlation between high numbers of unions
and higher tax levels is, maybe some thing worth looking into?