by Kate McFarland | Jul 29, 2016 | News
The AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), the largest federation of trade unions in the United States, does not currently endorse basic income in its official platform or plan for action. However, some of its leaders have recently expressed support.
Cathy Feingold, the AFL-CIO’s Director of International Affairs, was asked in a recent interview: “Is a global basic income something you could throw on the agenda as well?” In reply, she stated:
We are trying. And I think that we understand that there are way too many workers around the world who work day-in and day-out but still cannot provide for their families – and that’s a crime [1].
In addition to Feingold, William Spriggs, Professor of Economics at Howard and Chief Economist at the AFL-CIO, expressed support for a universal basic income last month in a tweet, in which he states “I personally prefer a universal basic income policy to a universal guaranteed job” (in response to an inquiry from Scott Santens).
[1] “Voices from the supply chain: an interview with Cathy Feingold,” Beyond Trafficking and Slavery, openDemocracy; July 25, 2016.
Note that this is the extent of the exchange on basic income, and it is unclear exactly what definition of ‘basic income’ Feingold and the interviewer have in mind.
Cathy Feingold Photo CC International Transport Workers
Thanks, as always, to my supporters on Patreon!
by Kate McFarland | Jul 11, 2016 | News
Unite, Britain’s largest trade union, passed a motion endorsing basic income at the Unite 2016 Policy Conference on Monday, July 11.
The full text of the motion is as follows (with links to relevant reports added by the editor):
Basic Income
Conference notes the growing crisis of low pay, in work poverty and precarity in a labour market increasingly characterised by casualised forms of employment that offer low pay, zero hours contracts and no long-term security.
Conference further notes the evident inability of our bureaucratically costly social security system, with its dependence on means-testing and frequent arbitrary sanction, to provide an adequate income floor.
Conference believes that a Basic Income, an unconditional, non-withdrawable income paid to everyone paid to everyone, has the potential to offer genuine social security to all while boosting the economy and creating jobs.
Conference welcomes the ongoing exploration of the concept of a Basic Income by the think-tank Compass, the innovation charity Nesta, the Royal Society of Arts, and others; further welcomes the planned practical experiments in Finland and Utrecht, Netherlands.
Conference calls upon the union to actively campaign for a Universal Basic Income and eradicate poverty for all.
The successful motion originated with the West Midlands Community, Youth Work and Not for Profit committee.
Unite has 1.42 million members “from all walks of life,” including those not in employment. The Unite policy conference is held annually. This year’s conference is currently taking place in Brighton, and will continue through Friday, July 15.
Thanks to Becca Kirkpatrick for reviewing this news report.
Thanks also to my supporters on Patreon.
Unite mural photograph CC William Murphy.
by Kate McFarland | Jun 7, 2016 | News
According to a June 6th news brief in Belfast Telegraph, the British trade union GMB has endorsed a basic income:
The union’s annual conference in Bournemouth voted in favour of lobbying for a basic income benefit for everyone. The motion passed by the GMB said that an unconditional basic income could effectively eradicate the worst levels of poverty.
As reported on its website, GMB has 639,000 members and represents every part of the UK economy.
This announcement came on the same day that the British think tank Compass launched its report on basic income — at a meeting in the House of Commons attended by, for one, John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is entertaining a Labour endorsement of UBI.
Image Credit: Rept0n1x (via Wikimedia Commons)
Thanks to my supporters on Patreon.
by Josh Martin | Jan 16, 2016 | News
Andy Stern, the former President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and a major voice on unions in America, will publish a book on June 14, 2016, titled Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream. Stern’s book will look at the future relationship of labor markets and technology through interviews with economists, futurists, labor leaders, CEOs, investment bankers, entrepreneurs, and political leaders. Stern believes the foundation for economic prosperity for all Americans starts with a universal basic income, and while the idea may not be mainstream yet, he hopes to create a movement that forces the political establishment to take action on the issue.
This will not be Stern’s first book. A Country That Works called for unions to be dominant vehicles in promoting social reforms and was successful enough to land Stern an appearance on The Colbert Report in 2006 to promote the book.
To view the book on Amazon, click here.
by Peter Knight | Jul 11, 2023 | News
In the second episode of UBI4ALL’s #checkoutbasicincome podcast, Sarath Davala, Chair of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), is interviewed.
In this episode Sarath tells about his life experience: how he became a UBI activist, when before he was skeptic about the idea. He also discusses what he learned in the well-known basic income experiments that took place in India.
Biographical note: Sarath Davala is an independent sociologist based in Hyderabad, India, and is currently the Chair of the Basic Income Earth Network. After a stint as a professor at IIM Bangalore, he switched to the voluntary sector and worked closely with several NGOs and trade unions in India and abroad. He has worked closely with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and was the Research Director of the Madhya Pradesh Basic Income Pilot Study that was conducted between 2011 and 2013 in India by SEWA. He is the co-author of the book: Basic Income: A Transformative Policy for India. He is currently co-directing another basic income pilot project with waste collectors in Hyderabad.
To listen to the podcast on Spotify, click here.
To listen to the podcast on Facebook, click here.
