JASON PRAMAS, Author at BINJ

AUSTERITY BUDGET, PART 3

May 24, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS The Worst of the House and the Senate Ways and Means Committee FY 2017 State Budget Proposals A weekly column like this one can only keep up with a limited number of current events. Although committed to tracking the worst proposed cuts at

JASON PRAMAS May 24, 2016

IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY GROUP OF CAMBRIDGE PROVIDES MODEL FOR MUNICIPAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

Joint Committee Meeting of the Cambridge City Council to Discuss Immigrant Representation and Resources, May 12, 2016. Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2016 Jason Pramas. May 23, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS We live in strange times. On the one hand, the United States is a more diverse society than

JASON PRAMAS May 23, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 7

May 11, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS General Electric tries to cheap out on cleaning up its PCB apocalypse on the Housatonic River In 1929, Swann Chemical Company began commercially producing polychlorinated biphenyls for industrial use as an electrical insulator and as a coolant. PCBs were immediately a huge success,

JASON PRAMAS May 11, 2016

ECONOMIC VIOLENCE: VERIZON CUTS OFF HEALTH CARE BENEFITS TO STRIKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

May 6, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS As the Verizon strike enters its fourth week, the 39,000 union members on picket lines up and down the East Coast—and now taking their campaign nationwide—are continuing to hold fast for a better contract than the giant corporation has thus far been willing

JASON PRAMAS May 6, 2016

AUSTERITY BUDGET: PART 2

April 28, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS The lowlights of the Mass House Ways and Means Committee FY 2017 state budget proposal Time for a look at the latest act of the Commonwealth’s annual fiscal circus: the House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) FY 2017 budget proposal. As with the

JASON PRAMAS April 28, 2016

STRIKE MATTERS: VERIZON’S UNION EMPLOYEES FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN WORKING CLASS

Photo by Jason Pramas April 22, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS BOSTON – From the St. James Avenue side of Copley Square on Thursday afternoon, passers-by could be forgiven for wondering what the group of 300 people in red T-shirts opposite them was cheering about. If they were told that

JASON PRAMAS April 22, 2016

LIMITED DEBATE: BOSTON CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS SOCIALISM AS CORPORATE MEDIA BLOCKS NEEDED DIALOGUE

Image by Tak Toyoshima April 13, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS There was an interesting exchange last week between Sen. Bernie Sanders and General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt. In an interview with the editors of the Daily News, when asked for “a sense of corporate America, as the agent of

JASON PRAMAS April 13, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 6

Photo by Derek Kouyoumjian April 8, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS General Electric brass, pols celebrate government giveaway while public opposition grows While General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh cavorted with assorted political and business glitterati on the 33rd floor of the

JASON PRAMAS April 8, 2016

WHY ARE SO FEW ‘HIGH SCHOOL QUIZ SHOW’ CONTESTANTS BLACK?

Image via High School Quiz Show / YouTube March 29, 2106 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Structural racism is the problem … now what’s the solution? WGBH’s “High School Quiz Show” is great. So great that adults like me watch it on purpose regularly. And that’s why I’ve noticed something problematic

JASON PRAMAS March 29, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 5

Image by Kent Buckley March 25, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS General Electric’s Boston charm offensive presents dilemma for Boston nonprofits, others General Electric is back on top of the Boston news cycle again. CEO Jeffrey Immelt made the rounds of pressers in person this week, starting with the announcement

JASON PRAMAS March 25, 2016