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GRITtv: The F Word: Working Families Still Squeezed

There were grumblings from all corners of the AFL-CIO at its winter meeting in Orlando recently. "Disappointment," "disillusionment," "unengaged"...these words and worse peppered press reports describing labor's view of President Obama and the Democrats.
Organized labor spent $200 million to help elect the president, and support of its 15 million members is considered absolutely critical for Democrats to hold the line this November.

GRITtv: Faces of Immigration

Victoria Marquez, a member of the Service Employees International Union, tells her story--of struggling for fair treatment in the workplace, and why the U.S. needs comprehensive immigration reform now.

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GRITtv: Pennies for Standing Next to Multimillion-Dollar Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art security guards have been caught in a labor struggle for years, dating back to the subcontracting out of what were formerly union jobs. They finally held--and won--a union election earlier this fall, but AlliedBarton, the contractor the guards work for, has so far refused to negotiate a contract.

GRITtv: Which Side Are You On? Organizing Labor in America

Paula Finn, editor of the New Labor Forum, Thomas Frank, author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?" and "The Wrecking Crew" and Wall Street Journal columnist Tom Geoghegan, labor lawyer, recent congressional candidate, and author of "Which Side Are You On?: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back," joined Laura to talk about labor's problems and suggest some solutions to help all of us, whether we're union members or not.

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GRITtv: Showdown in Chicago: People vs. Bankers

Economist Dean Baker compared the American Bankers Association to termites, saying "it does most of its damage in the dark." But activists from all over the country have converged in Chicago this week for dramatic protests at the ABA's annual convention, designed to drag the bankers' actions out into the light. We'll have updates all week on the actions at the Showdown in Chicago, but here's a look at one of the first actions at the "Bankers' Ball," where activists decided to crash the party. Thanks to SEIU for the video.

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GRITtv: Puerto Rico: Work Not Welfare

Puerto Rican Republican governor Luis Fortuno promised not to cut jobs when running for office, but only a few short months in announced massive cuts -- despite millions in stimulus money earmarked to maintain employment. About 150,000 Puerto Ricans participated in a general strike in protest of the job cuts. Fortuno threatened to charge the protesters with terrorism, but is now backing off after seeing the size of the protests. SEIU sent us video urging action in Congress, keeping the pressure on Fortuno to do right by Puerto Ricans.

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GRITtv: Bank of America's Guerrilla Collection Tactics

Former Bank of America employee Chris Feener says that little has changed at BoA since the company received billions of dollars in tax-payer money. The company continues to use what Feener calls guerrilla collection tactics and compensates its employees based on the amount of debt they collect. Feener, who hadn't received a raise in several years, says that bonuses of five to $6,000 dollars were often awarded on a monthly basis. Despite promises that in exchange for taxpayer money, banks and financial institutions would be regulated little progress has been made.