Jonathan Tasini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan Tasini (born 1956 in Houston, Texas), is the current president of the Economic Future Group, a national consulting group in the United States. He is a strategist, organizer, activist, commentator and writer, primarily focusing his energies on the topics of work, labor and the economy. He writes most frequently for the popular labor and economy blog Working Life. In 2006, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary, gaining 17% of the vote. [1]
From 1990 to April 2003, he served as president of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981). During Tasini's tenure as NWU president, it was discovered that the union's health insurance provider, Employers Mutual Insurance, was a fraudulent operation and had been wrongfully denying claims.
Members were divided over Tasini's leadership during the insurance crisis, with some accusing him of failing to notice the concerns of members and act quickly. Others pointed out that he appointed a committee to address concerns after the fraud was discovered; ultimately the panel released two opposing reports.
Tasini remains the president emeritus of the NWU, which has suffered a decline in membership in recent years. The candidate he supported to replace him as president was defeated.
Tasini was the lead plaintiff in the case of New York Times Co. v. Tasini, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in June 2001) in favor of the copyright claims of writers whose work was republished in electronic databases without their permission. He is also the president and executive director of the Creators Federation.
Contents |
[edit] Education
Jonathan Tasini completed high school in Israel, where he continued to study at Tel Aviv University. He was also involved in the powerful labor movement in Israel, Histadrut. He also holds a degree in political sciences from UCLA.
[edit] Campaign for U.S. Senate 2006
On December 6, 2005, Tasini officially announced his bid to challenge Senator Clinton for the Democratic nomination in the New York 2006 Senate election. [2] Tasini, who needed to collect 15,000 valid signatures to force a primary with Clinton, submitted approximately 40,000 of them on July 13. Senator Clinton did not challenge their validity, and he appeared on the ballot on September 12.
Tasini was endorsed by a number of prominent political activists, including Susan Sarandon, Cindy Sheehan, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Howard Zinn. [3] On September 7, 2006, The Gay City News endorsed Tasini's Senate candidacy, citing his support for same-sex marriage, and Clinton's stated opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage. [4]
[edit] Opposition to 2003 invasion of Iraq
In his campaign, Tasini emphasized his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Tasini was supported by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who had in October said, "I will resist [Clinton's] candidacy with every bit of my power and strength...I will not make the mistake of supporting another pro-war Democrat for president again." [5]
[edit] Domestic policy
Tasini called for universal health care and curbs on corporate power as part of what he termed "New Rules For the Economy".
